The market slid yesterday as quarterly results from the companies dented hopes that earnings would show strong signs of improvement in the July-September period. A rise in oil also helped the market end well off its lows.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 67 points to finish just below the 10,000 mark, which it had broken through on Wednesday for the first time in a year. Stocks still posted big gains for the week.
Bank of America lost more than $2.2 billion in the third quarter. The bank wrote down almost $10 billion in bad loans. The loss was steeper than expected.
General Electric's report also revealed signs of credit weakness. The conglomerate's profit dropped 44 percent, hurt by much lower earnings at its financial arm, GE Capital, which lends money to a variety of businesses.
A worsening of the mood of consumers fanned concerns that they will hold off spending. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to 69.4 in a preliminary reading for October from 73.5 in September.
The Dow fell 67.03, or 0.7 percent, to 9,995.91 after being down as much as 123 points at its low of the day. The broader S&P 500 index fell 8.88, or 0.8 percent, to 1,087.68, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 16.49, or 0.8 percent, to 2,156.80.
Bank of America fell 84 cents, or 4.6 percent, to $17.26, while GE gave up 71 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $16.08.
The reports overshadowed solid results from Google Inc., which arrived after the closing bell Thursday. The Internet search company reported a record profit as revenue growth accelerated for the first time since the recession began in December 2007. The stock advanced $19.94, or 3.8 percent, to $549.85.
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