Wall Street fell on Thursday after the European Central Bank dashed hopes that policy-makers were preparing a financial bazooka to contain the debt crisis, and Germany rejected some proposals to add power to the euro zone's bailout fund.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 198.67 points, or 1.63 percent, to end unofficially at 11,997.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 26.66 points, or 2.11 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,234.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 52.83 points, or 1.99 percent, to close unofficially at 2,596.38.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Germany Down