Stocks suffered sizable losses on Thursday, but recouped more than half of a steep dive, as investors dialed back concerns of trouble at one of Portugal's top banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which dropped 173 points, or 1 percent, in early morning trading, closed unofficially 70 points down. The S&P 500 ended 8 points lower and the Nasdaq was off 22 points. Wall Street bypassed another upbeat indicator on the U.S. jobs market, after applications for jobless benefits last week fell by 11,000 to a better-than-expected 304,000. In Europe, stocks from the euro-zone's periphery led declines, with Portuguese bonds stumbled amid concerns about the health of the financial group Banco Espirito Santo. Also, a report showed Italian industrial output down 1.2 percent in May from the prior month, its largest monthly drop since late 2012, fueling concern for that nation's economy.
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IN DEPTH
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- Kate Gibson, CNBC.com