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NEW YORK, Oct 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks suffered their worst day since late June on Friday, after bellwethers General Electric and McDonald's extended a string of disappointing earnings. The Nasdaq ended down 2.19 percent, dragged lower for a second day by Google's weak results. Microsoft dropped 2.9 percent to $28.64 after it said profits fell on poor sales of PCs. Google's stock lost 1.9 percent to close at $681.79.
For the Dow, Friday's decline marked its worst day since June 21 - with the sell-off coming on the 25th anniversary of Black Monday, the Dow's worst single-day percentage loss ever. For Wall Street, corporate America's top-line figures are of particular concern. The beat rate for revenue forecasts is just 41.4 percent, compared to the long-term average of 62 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.
General Electric Co shares fell 3.4 percent to $22.03. Quarterly earnings met Wall Street's expectations, but revenue fell short of estimates. GE, however, stood by its full-year earnings forecast. "McDonald's, Chipotle, Coca-Cola have all been slammed. And Wal-Mart, Target, even Dollar Stores are getting hit. That's tough to stomach because across income levels, everything is sharply lower."
The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 205.43 points, or 1.52 percent, to 13,343.51 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 24.15 points, or 1.66 percent, to 1,433.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 67.24 points, or 2.19 percent, to close at 3,005.62.
"This sell-off is definitely earnings-driven, but there is also an element of profit taking after several strong days," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York. "But it is a very quiet crash, coming on the anniversary of the 1987 collapse."
The KLCI may ease this week, as investors may lock in gains ahead of a public holiday next Friday; she tips the benchmark index to trade in a 1655-1667 band this week.
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