After dropping more than 50 points in early trading today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
Europe woes
The debt crisis in Europe continues to weigh down markets, as new fears of a European recession helped drive down the Dow after the opening bell. Germany's economy, the largest in Europe, probably contracted about 0.25% in the last three months of 2011. Spain, the country with Europe's highest unemployment rate, saw its industrial output drop 7% year over year in November. Finally, the European Union revised its figure for third-quarter eurozone growth to 0.1%, down from the previous 0.2% estimate.
Winners and losers
But despite European worries and today's flat markets, there were some companies that managed to show some solid gains. Bank of America ended the day up 3.62% and has now gained more than 23% in 2012 alone. Outside the Dow, building-products manufacturer USG
Walt Disney was the biggest loser of the Dow, down 3.2%, while SUPERVALU
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