Wall St. sinks on financials, GM woes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slid on Thursday, hit by persistent worries about major banks, including Citigroup , and a warning from General Motors about a possible bankruptcy.

Grim economic reports signaling more fallout from the recession added to the negative tone as major indexes traded around 12-year lows, offsetting positive same-store sales and a 15 percent rise in the dividend of Wal-Mart Stores .

Worries about the financial system's health hit bank stocks again as investors focused on the possibility that troubles in the finance arm of General Electric