NEW YORK - US STOCKS plunged on Thursday on market concerns over a collapse of oil prices and a lowering of American giant General Electric's credit outlook to negative.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 219.35 points (2.49 per cent) to 8,604.99 at the closing bell.

The tech-rich Nasdaq fell 26.94 points (1.71 per cent) to 1,552.37 and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index retreated 19.07 points (2.11 per cent) to 885.35.

The market opened higher but succumbed to pressure as oil prices tumbled to the lowest points for more than four years and credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's revised its outlook on General Electric's financial unit General Electric Capital Corp (GECC) to negative from stable.

'The stock market was knocked markedly lower after General Electric had its credit outlook lowered to negative by Standard & Poor's,' said analysts at Briefing.com.

'Standard & Poor's has added a bit of additional downside pressure, as the ratings firm lowered its outlook on GE Capital Corp. to negative from stable due to its reliance on confidence-sensitive wholesale funding,' said Mr Joseph Hargett of Schaeffer's Investment Research.

'GECC's earnings deterioration in 2009 and 2010 could be greater than we previously assumed,' said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Scott Sprinzen.

The outlook revision reflects the continuing risks posed by GECC's reliance on confidence-sensitive wholesale funding, despite the benefits of temporary US government support programmes and of management's ongoing efforts to reduce GECC's reliance on commercial paper, strengthen near-term liquidity, downsize the asset base, and strengthen capital, S & P said.

The energy sector was among the worst performers as oil and other key commodities traded with weakness. -- AFP