Stocks open lower as eurozone concerns take center stage

Stocks have opened lower, with the three major indexes down, as worries shift to the eurozone debt crisis following a report of a meeting between leaders there. The Dow is of 0.12%, the Nasdaq is off 0.1% and the S&P 500 is off 0.6%.

An unexpected meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German

Chancellor Angela Merkel and other international officials in Frankfurt late

Wednesday fueled worries over a potential rift between Berlin and Paris over

elements of a comprehensive package of reforms expected to be presented by

euro-zone leaders at a Brussels summit meeting on Sunday, news reports said.

There was no official comment from the Wednesday gathering, however.

Also, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 to 403,000 in the week ended Oct. 15. Initial claims from two weeks ago were revised up to 409,000 from an original reading of 404,000, however. The average of new claims over the past four weeks, seen as a more accurate gauge of labor trends, fell by 6,250 to 403,000, the lowest since mid-April.

In stocks, EBay ( EBAY ) shares are down 4.6% off the open after an earnings miss late Wednesday.

Also, Riverbed Technology ( RVBD ) gains. The company late Wednesday reported Q3 revenue of $191 mln, better than the analyst consensus of $185 mln on Thomson Reuters. EPS was $0.24, vs. expectations of $0.21 per share.

Microsoft Corp. ( MSFT ) will report after the market closes today.