Stocks slip amid austerity protests in Europe

Stocks slipped Wednesday as protests against austerity measures in Europe brought new worries about the region's financial system.

The dollar fell further against other currencies as traders anticipate more action by the Federal Reserve to push U.S. interest rates down. Gold continued to climb past $1,300.

European markets fell as demonstrators gathered in Brussels, where the European Union is based, and in several of the bloc's member countries to protest austerity measures aimed at preventing another crisis like the one that required a bailout of Greece earlier this year.

Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis, said the protests in Europe suggest those countries will have trouble implementing austerity measures and that has spooked markets there.

"Governments will have more difficulty making cuts to get their budgets in order," she said.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 22.86 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,835.28 The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 2.97, or 0.3 percent, to 1,144.73, and the Nasdaq composite fell 3.03, or 0.1 percent, to 2,376.56. - AP