Dismal consumer sentiment data and anemic revenues from GE and two big banks slammed US stocks on Friday, driving down major indexes more than 2%.

The slide in the S&P 500 was a decisive break of an 8% rise over the last two weeks as investors lost hope that strong earnings could overcome doubts about the economic outlook.

Bank of America, the biggest US bank, slid more than 9% and the S&P financial index dropped 4.4% as investors fretted about how banks will make money going forward.

source : moneycontrol