Europe stocks suffer worst day in 4 weeks after GE

                                
 By Blaise Robinson
                                
 PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - European stocks ended down 1.4
percent on Friday, their biggest one-day drop since mid-March as
a profit warning by General Electric <GE.N> rattled investors
and cemented the view that the U.S. economy was tipping into
recession.
                                
 Industrial stocks took a beating, with Siemens <SIEGn.DE>
losing 3.4 percent, and Rolls-Royce <RR.L> falling 3.2 percent.
The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares
ended down 1.4 percent, at 1,284.71 points, its lowest close
since March 31 and its fourth negative session in a row.
                                
 The index ended the week with a loss of 2.6 percent.
 "GE's results confirm our view that the consensus is still
way too high for 2008 and that forecast downgrades will
continue, and dampen the market's recent enthusiasm," said
Romain Boscher, head of equity management at Groupama Asset
Management, in Paris.
                                
 GE, viewed as an economic bellwether because of its range of
businesses, posted an unexpected 6 percent drop in quarterly
profit and cut its full-year profit forecast from continuing
earnings, quashing European shares' early recovery from a
three-day drop.
                                
 "These results confirm that the slowdown is widespread and
beginning to impact capex (capital expenditures) and
longer-cycle businesses," said Stephen Surpless, senior analyst
at Cantor Fitzgerald in London.
                                
 "While the credit crisis might be nearer to the end than the
beginning, according to some, the impact on the real economy is
taking place and is unlikely to abate in 2008," he added.
                                
 UK telecoms group Vodafone <VOD.L> was the biggest laggard
among Europe's blue chips, down 4.3 percent. Morgan Stanley
analysts said the stock did not appeal to them compared with KPN
<KPN.AS>, TeliaSonera <TLSN.ST> or France Telecom <FTE.PA> after
meeting EU officials on routing costs.
                                
 Other telecoms retreated, with Telefonica <TEF.MC> down 2.8
percent, and Deutsche Telekom <DTEGn.DE> down 1.8 percent.
                                
 BAE Systems <BAES.L> tumbled 4.9 percent. A London court
said on Thursday a corruption investigation into arms deals with
Saudi Arabia should not have been halted.
                                
 European stocks also got hit by data showing that U.S.
consumer confidence fell to its lowest in more than a quarter
century in early April.
                                
 The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers said
its preliminary index of confidence fell to 63.2 in April from
69.5 in March. This was well below economists' median
expectation of a reading of 69.0, according to a Reuters poll.
                                
 Around Europe, Germany's DAX index <.GDAXI> fell 1.5
percent, UK's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> dropped 1.2 percent and
France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> lost 1.3 percent.
                                
 Among the few stocks on the upside, crop protection and
seeds company Syngenta <SYNN.VX> gained 1.6 percent, benefiting
from rival DuPont's <DD.N> bullish profit forecast on Thursday
and booming agricultural markets.
                                
 French telecoms and construction group Bouygues <BOUY.PA>
rose 2.4 percent following an upgrade by Morgan Stanley. The
brokerage raised its recommendation on the stock to "overweight"
from "equal-weight", saying in a note: "We now think the bear
case recession scenario is priced in."
 (Additional reporting by Juliette Rouillon; Editing by Mike
Elliott)