Stocks fell on Thursday after a sharply lower-than-expected reading on US GDP for the first quarter ratcheted up questions about the health of the US economy in the face of persistently high interest rates. Meanwhile, Meta’s (META) revenue forecast rattled tech investors eyeing the next high-stakes megacap earnings.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell about 0.6%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost less than 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped about 1%, or nearly 400 points. The indexes did recover from deeper losses earlier in the session.
US GDP growth came in at a 1.6% annualized pace in the first quarter, falling well short of expectations of 2.5%. The reading comes amid ongoing debate about the path of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate campaign. Meanwhile, an underlying measure of inflation grew by 3.7% in the first quarter, above estimates and significantly higher…
