Investing.com– U.S. stocks retreated Thursday after disappointing U.S. quarterly growth added to concerns over elevated inflation and tight monetary policy.
At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), slid 295 points, or 0.8%, fell 11 points, or 0.2%, and fell 30 points, or 0.2%.
First-quarter GDP growth slows
The U.S. economy grew more slowly in the first quarter than previously estimated, as gross domestic product grew at an 1.3% annualized rate from January through March, lower than the advance estimate of 1.6% and notably slower than the 3.4% pace in the final three months of 2023.
While this reading could point to the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in the near future, a measure of inflation in the data during the first quarter was revised down to 3.3% from 3.4%, still the stiffest quarterly price-pressure growth in a year.
Federal Reserve policymakers have pushed back expectations for when they’ll be able to pivot to interest rate cuts, bringing Friday’s data — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — firmly into focus.
Weak Salesforce earnings hit sentiment
Also weighing on sentiment were weak earnings from Salesforce (NYSE:), with the shares of software firm plummeting 17% as its guidance missed estimates.
Elsewhere, Foot Locker (NYSE:) stock rose over 25% after the retailer affirmed its guidance for 2024 as its turnaround plan showed signs of progress, Dollar General (NYSE:) stock rose 0.5% after the discount retailer posted strong first-quarter earnings on demand from cash-strapped customers.
Kohl’s (NYSE:) stock slipped 24% after the department store chain reported an unexpected first-quarter loss and issued a 2025 profit warning, while American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:) stock fell 9% after the apparel retailer’s fiscal first-quarter sales came in weaker than expected, even as revenue was 5% above the levels seen a year ago.
Dell Technologies (NYSE:), Costco (NASDAQ:), Gap (NYSE:) and Nordstrom (NYSE:) are due to report after the bell.
Crude weakens on soft US growth data
Crude prices fell Thursday after the weak U.S. growth data outweighed optimism over a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. inventories.
By 09:35 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 1% lower at $78.42 per barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 1% to $82.62 a barrel.
Data from the showed on Wednesday that U.S. oil inventories shrank nearly 6.5 million barrels last week, much more than expectations for a draw of 1.9 million barrels.
The data usually heralds a similar reading from official data, which is due later Thursday. The outsized draw suggested that U.S. fuel demand was picking up with the onset of the travel-heavy summer season, widely seen as the Memorial Day weekend.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this aticle.)