Stock market slides after GDP data shows sharp drop in U.S. economic growth

Stocks sank sharply in morning trade after new government data showed the U.S. economy shrank in the first three months of the year.

The S&P 500 dropped 93 points, or 1.7%, to 5,468; the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 604 points, or 1.5%; and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite shed 2.4%.

The Commerce Department said in a report on Wednesday that the nation's gross domestic product — the total value of products and services — shrank at a 0.3% annual rate, down from growth of 2.4% in the final three months of 2024. The latest GDP readout was also lower than forecast of 0.8% growth from economists polled by FactSet.