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 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.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.53 percent from 3.55 percent late Thursday.
Light, sweet crude dipped 9 cents to $110.02 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold was lower, and the dollar was mixed against other major currencies.
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 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.
In corporate news, Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But, unlike other airlines filing for bankruptcy in recent weeks, it plans to keep running while it reorganizes.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 2.92 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.31 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.25 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.16 percent.
On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/
[Associated Press; By JOE BEL BRUNO]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
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