US stocks fall after GE results disappoint

Wall Street fell in early trading Friday after a disappointing first-quarter report from General Electric Co. stoked concern about the health of corporate profits and the wider economy. The major indexes were at times down more than 1 percent.

GE, which is regarded as a bellwether of big business, said its financial-services divisions have been 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 stirred worries that companies still to report first-quarter results will paint a similarly dreary pictures. The smaller-than-expected profits from GE appeared to inject anxiety into a market that earlier this week saw disappointing results from the likes of aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. and a warning from chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

Investors also remain nervous ahead of a survey of consumer confidence due later Friday morning. 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. Investors fear nervous consumers will pare their spending -- an unwelcome prospect as consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 122.13, or 0.97 percent, to 12,459.85. GE was by far the steepest decliner among the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow. The stock was off $4.08, or 11 percent, at $32.67.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 14.31, or 1.05 percent, to 1,346.24, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 26.52, or 1.13 percent, to 2,325.18.

(Agencies)