Stocks fell on Friday as investors paused to reassess the sustainability of the recent spate of upbeat profits and whether or not the banks have turned a corner, following mixed results from Citigroup .

Shares of Citigroup dropped more than 7 percent to $3.72 as news of a smaller-than-expected first-quarter loss was tempered by comments from the company indicating consumer credit deterioration remained a worry.

Investors after taking a close look at Citi are reevaluating the news, it's really mostly accounting benefit from moving to a mark-to-model approach, said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago

Rules requiring banks to price assets at market value were loosened recently, boosting hopes that banks would not have to grapple with more writedowns in the near term.

Shares of General Electric dropped 0.4 percent to $12.21 after the company posted better-than-expected results but indicated that fallout from commercial real estate losses may worsen.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 24.13 points, or 0.30 percent, to 8,101.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 2.90 points, or 0.34 percent, to 862.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 13.88 points, or 0.83 percent, to 1,656.56.

(Additional reporting by Charles Mikolajczak)

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)

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