EU bank failures will crash Wall Street — again

U.S. stocks fell Wednesday after indications showed the U.S. economy was growing at a weak pace and on disappointing earnings from Apple Inc., and as investors assessed European efforts to fix the region’s debt problems.

The Dow industrials ended down 72.43 points, or 0.6%, at 11,504.62, after rising nearly 57 points and falling as much as 108 points. The index had been higher before the Federal Reserve’s afternoon release of regional indicators, known as the Beige Book.

The report said many districts saw “modest” to “slight” growth. “Contacts generally noted weaker or less certain outlooks for business conditions,” the report said.

Investments recently sought as safe-haven assets, such as Treasurys and the U.S. dollar, pared losses after the report.