Stocks fell today after a report showed that economic growth was weaker than expected, and as Europe’s debt crisis continues to loom in the background, CNNMoney reported.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard &Poor’s 500 both fell, and though the Nasdaq remains on track to log a fourth straight week of gains, the day’s declines will put the other indexes in the red for the week.

The slump came as investors reacted to the government’s first reading on fourth-quarter gross domestic product. The U.S. economy picked up speed at the end of 2011, growing at an annual rate of 2.8 percent, but fell short of the 3.2 percent forecast.