US stocks poised to slide after GE results

Wall Street was poised to open lower Friday after General Electric Co. reported first-quarter results that fell below projections and pinned the miss on disruptions caused by the credit crisis.

GE, considered an economic bellwether, said its financial services businesses were challenged by the slowing U.S. economy and difficult capital markets. The company -- whose orbit extends into entertainment, consumer and industrial manufacturing, finance and health care -- also lowered projections for the entire year.

The results stoked more fears that hundreds of companies still to report first-quarter results will come in below expectations. The unexpected miss by GE injects anxiety into the market that began with disappointing results earlier this week from the likes of Alcoa Inc. and a warning from chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Investors also remain nervous ahead of a report on consumer confidence that will be released after the open. Recent reports have show that Americans' confidence in the economy hovers at new lows, dragged down by worries about mounting job losses, record-high home foreclosures and zooming energy prices.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 36, or 0.31 percent, to 12,564. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures dropped 7.80, or 0.57 percent, to 1,355.00. Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 9.50, or 0.51 percent, to 1,849.25.

Consumer sentiment in April is expected to further weaken amid a sinking economic climate, according to an early reading for the month. The preliminary Reuters/University of Michigan monthly index of consumer sentiment will be released Friday at 10 a.m. EDT with a final report coming April 25. The market anticipates a reading of 68, according to a consensus estimate of Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR -- that's down from March's 69.5 reading, which is a 16-year low.

(Agencies)