NEW YORK -- Wall Street stumbled Friday with the major indexes falling more than 2 percent on a disappointing report from General Electric Co.
GE said its financial-services divisions have been challenged by the slowing US economy and difficult capital markets. The company also lowered projections for the entire year.
Shares of GE dropped 12.8 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.
The report stirred investors' worries about the health of both corporate profits and the US economy.
Earlier this week, markets witness disappointing results from aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. and a warning from chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
The Dow Jones average fell 256.39, or 2.04 percent, to 12,325. 59. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 27.70, or 2.04 percent, to 1,332.85, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 61.46, or 2.6 percent, to 2,290.24.