Markets Plunge on GE News

Dow drops 256 points after surprisingly weak earnings report
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 11, 2008 3:46 PM CDT
Markets Plunge on GE News
Salesman Hank Pham puts the price on a GE microwave in the appliances section of Howard's Appliance and Big-Screen Superstore in San Gabriel, Calif., Tuesday April 8, 2008.    (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

The markets went into a tailspin today after GE shares declined 13%—the company's worst performance since the 1987 crash, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 256.56 points to close at 12,325.42, the Nasdaq dropped 61.46 points to 2,290.24, and the S&P 500 shed 27.72 to settle at 1,332.83.

Today’s bearish results cemented weekly losses of 2%-3% for the major indices. "GE never surprises us,” one analyst complained. “They had the whole month of March to let us know—all they had to say is: business is slow!" Adding to the depressed climate, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since 1982. (More Dow Jones stories.)

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