Global stocks falter on euro zone jitters

Stocks slipped today, taking a step back from their recent advance, prompted by comments by the ECB president on the euro and Europe's outlook.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 43.00 points, or 0.31 percent, at 13,943.52. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 2.81 points, or 0.19 percent, to 1,509.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 3.34 points, or 0.11 percent, to 3,165.13.

Two leading European equity indexes fell to 2013 closing lows today, hit by a fall in drugmaker Sanofi after disappointing results and on persistent concern over the economic outlook.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.3 percent at 1,148.28 points, its lowest close since Dec. 31. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell 0.7 percent to 2,597.92 points, its worst finish since early December.

Japanese shares came off a more than four-year high as investors booked profits, with Nikon Corp sinking 19 percent after it lowered its annual earnings forecast.

The Nikkei closed at 11,357.07, retreating from a high of 11,498.42 struck yesterday. Trading volume stood at 4.04 billion shares, marking the highest level since March 15, 2011.