Wall Street retreats on disappointing earnings, economic data

NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street retreated on Friday, as earnings results from General Electric Co. (GE) and Bank of America Corp. disappointed investors.

The sign on a Bank of America branch is seen in Washington, October 16, 2009. Bank of America Corp posted a $1 billion third-quarter loss as consumer credit woes eclipsed investment banking earnings, underlining why the bank remains on a government respirator and sending its shares down 4.2 percent. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

GE, the world's biggest maker of jet engines, lost over 4 percent as the company said its profit dropped 44 percent in the most recent quarter, hurt by weakness in its financial unit, GE Capital, though results were slightly better than analysts' estimates.

Meanwhile, Bank of America, the largest U.S. lender, dipped 4.64 percent after posting a one-billion-dollar third-quarter loss and sales that trailed analysts' estimates.

International Business Machines Corp. dropped 4.95 percent. The world's largest computer-services company said new contract signings declined last quarter. And Advanced Micro Devices Inc. fell 7.27 percent after the chipmaker predicted that sales fell short of some analysts' estimates.