NEW YORK — Wall Street extended its losses Thursday, as a negative ratings outlook on financial and industrial powerhouse General Electric Co. shook an already fragile investor psyche and sent stocks tumbling.
After moving within a narrow trading range for much of the session, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped about 220 points.
The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost more than 2 percent.
Stocks struggled to find a direction in the early going Thursday as investors sifted through a number of economic indicators, including more layoffs and dismal earnings forecasts.
But a negative ratings outlook on GE from Standard & Poor’s added further pressure on the market.
The ratings service lowered its outlook on GE and its GE Capital finance arm to negative from stable. S&P affirmed their Triple-A ratings but said there is a one-in-three chance they could lose them because of the ongoing financial struggles at GE Capital.
GE shares fell $1.43, or 8.2 percent, to close at $15.96.
At the same time, energy stocks tumbled as oil prices plunged.
Crude briefly dropped below $36 a barrel Thursday on worries of a drastic pullback in energy spending, even after a record production cut from OPEC earlier this week.
The Dow fell 219.35, or 2.49 percent, to 8,604.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 19.14, or 2.12 percent, to 885.28, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 26.94, or 1.71, to 1,552.37.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 7.42, or 1.52 percent, to 479.17.
