Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 62 points at 12,190.

Among blue-chip stocks, American International Group, Inc. gained 1.2% in pre-opening trade. The insurance giant reported a jump in net income and a big share buyback and dividend plan.

But few other Dow stocks seemed to be headed for gains.

Dell was down 2.5%, dragging techs before the open, after reporting fourth-quarter earnings that fell 33% from a year ago and issued a downbeat outlook. The computer is struggling with a decline in sales and increased competition from top rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34 points to close at 12,234, recovering from a 200-point plunge shortly after the open.

The Dow and the broad market this morning came close to losing 5% from the February highs hit last week, which provided a floor of support, according to Paul Nolte, director of investments at Hinsdale Associates.

Some components of the blue-chip average stayed in the black -- including Boeing Co., McDonald's Corp. and Citigroup Inc..

However, the market's attempts to return in positive territory were thwarted in afternoon trade.

Among those hit on the Dow were Hewlett-Packard Co., and Intel Corp.. Also falling were Alcoa Inc., Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies Corp. and JP Morgan Chase & Co..

"There's a lot of scared money moving out, and also a lot of opportunistic money moving in," said Barry Hyman, market strategist at EKN Financial.

The S&P 500 fell 3.7 points to 1,403, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 11 points to 2,404.

Trading volume, as over the past few days, remained elevated with 2.2 billion shares exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 2.7 billion on the Nasdaq stock market. Declining issues outpaced gainers by 19 to 12 on the NYSE and by 19 to 10 on the Nasdaq.

The market recovered some ground after news that the nation's manufacturers increased production in February, against expectations for further contraction in the manufacturing sector.

Stocks had opened sharply lower as jitters about Asian markets, distressed money lenders and growth concerns returned to haunt the market, only two days after stocks suffered their worst 1-day performance since 2001. The Dow fell 416 points Tuesday, only regaining roughly 50 points on Wednesday.

The surge in private-equity deals, such as Monday's $45 billion offer for TXU Corp., has also benefited from friendly financing conditions.

Overnight, Asian markets again dipped, this time after comments from a Japanese official were seen as suggesting that Japan won't back down from tightening its monetary policy.

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