Stocks try to stabilize

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks cut losses Thursday morning, turning mixed, as stocks bounced after touching key levels not seen in nearly six years.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 0.3% over 90 minutes into the session, hampered by a plunge in GM and Citigroup.
The Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX) index lost 1% and the Nasdaq composite (COMP) gained 0.4%.
Stocks slumped through the morning after a report showed the highest level of weekly unemployment claims in 16 years, underscoring the depth of the recession.
But the major gauges managed to cut losses and briefly turn higher after the S&P 500 dropped to the lowest level since Oct. 10, 2002. That date is considered important on a technical basis for all three major gauges, as it marked the bottom of the last bear market.
Worries about the fate of the automakers sent stocks plunging Wednesday, with all three major gauges ending at the lowest levels since 2003. Stocks extended the selloff Thursday morning.
Markets worldwide declined. Asian stocks tumbled, with the Japanese Nikkei losing 6.9%. In afternoon trading, London's FTSE 100 was off 4.4% and the German DAX was down 4.4%.