[R]11:00AM New York – U.S. stocks fell after General Electric reported lower earnings.[/R]

Stocks opened lower and quickly fell after 90 minutes of trading. General Electric plunged 10% after it failed to meet earnings expectations. GE reported revenue rise of 8% and earnings decline of 6% in the first quarter.

The lower earnings sent stocks quickly lower and dragged major market averages with it.

Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse downgraded the stock after the earnings release. GE blamed the earnings shortfall on the fall in investment in securities in the last two weeks of March and chief executive said that the decline was sudden and without warning. Analysts, raised credibility and reliability of the company earnings.

Frontier Airlines plunged 80% after it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Denver, Colorado based airline is the third airline in the U.S. and fifth in the world to file for protection from creditors in the year so far.

General Electric plunges on earnings

General Electric Company today reported revenue for the first quarter ended 2008 climbed 8% to $42.24 billion from $39.20 billion.

First quarter net income fell 6% to $4.3 billion or 43 cents per share from $4.57 billion or 44 cents per share for the same quarter of year ago. Earnings from continuing operations totaled $4.4 billion, or 44 cents per share, down 8% year-over-year.

""""Demand for our global infrastructure business remained strong, but our financial services businesses were challenged by a slowing U.S. economy and difficult capital markets,"""" GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement.

“Infrastructure had a solid quarter, growing revenues 23% and earnings 17%,” Immelt said. “Oil & Gas, Energy, Transportation, and Aviation all generated double-digit profit growth – with no signs of slowing. Infrastructure orders increased 12%, and we added more than $3 billion in backlog since last quarter.”

Total orders were $24 billion, up 8%. Major equipment orders grew 11% to $12 billion. Major equipment backlog was at $52 billion, an increase of 41%. Services orders were up 5%, and services backlog stood at $110 billion, an increase of 16% year-over-year.

Immelt further added, “We are lowering our full-year EPS guidance to $2.20-2.30 from continuing operations for growth between flat and 5%. We expect our industrial earnings to grow between 10% and 15% and financial services earnings to decline between 5% and 10%. This range encompasses any portfolio actions we have announced. Our second quarter 2008 guidance is 53 cents and 55 cents earnings per share.”

General Electric Company (GE: chart), shares fell $3.65, or 9.9%, to $33.10.

Asian Markets

In Tokyo Nikkei 225 Index closed higher 378.43 or 2.92% to 13,323.73, in Hong Kong Hang Seng index increased 480.69 or 1.99% closed to 24,667.79. In Australia ASX 200 index lower 7.10 or 0.13% to close 5,439.30. In Malaysia KL Composite index decreased 1.40 or 0.11% closed to 1,246.79.

In South Korea Kospi Index increased 15.07 or 0.85% to close at 1,779.71, in Thailand SET index closed higher 6.12 or 0.75% to 827.10 and Indonesia JSE Index edged increased 68.00 or 3.04% to 2,303.93. Sensex index in India increased 112.54 or 0.72% to 15,807.64.