NEW YORK - February 4, 2010 - Stocks tumbled Thursday after disappointing jobless claims numbers had investors worrying about the government's upcoming January jobs report.

At the same time, more trouble for debt-strapped European governments also unnerved investors and sent them in search of safe haven holdings like the U.S. dollar and U.S. Treasury notes. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 200 points, and all the major indexes were down about 2%.

The day's news reminded investors that the global economic Depression remains in full force, and also raised questions about whether the market can rebound from the 12-year lows it hit last March. Investors were concerned Thursday that a weakening of foreign economies could spill over to the U.S. and put more pressure on the job market, which is seen as the biggest obstacle to any recovery.

Claims for unemployment benefits rose by 8,000 to 480,000 last week, the Labor Department reported, disappointing investors who had hoped for a drop. It was the fourth increase in the past five weeks. The number of lost jobs was the highest in two months and upended a sense that claims would resume a decline that occurred in the fall and early winter.