Stocks sold off sharply at the open as market participants sifted through a mountain of economic data – including the worst reading on gross domestic product (GDP) in three years. But the main indexes rallied hard off their intraday lows, with two of the three closing in the green.
Ahead of the open, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said GDP decreased at an annual rate of 0.3% in the first quarter as imports jumped 41.3%. This marked the biggest drop in GDP since Q1 2022. Economists expected a 0.4% increase in economic growth.
