Stocks tumbled Thursday after the latest U.S. economic data showed a sharp slowdown in growth and pointed to persistent inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 611 points, or 1.6%, weighed down by steep declines in Caterpillar and IBM. The S&P 500 dropped 1.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.7%.
U.S. gross domestic product expanded 1.6% in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast GDP growth would come in at 2.4%.
And inflation surged, too:
Along with the downbeat growth rate for the quarter, the report showed consumer prices increased at a 3.4% pace, well above the previous quarter's 1.8% advance. This raised concern over persistent inflation and put into question whether the Federal Reserve will be able to cut rates anytime soon.
This may sound bad to you, but don't worry, the Washington Post's "journalist" says this is "steady" growth we should all be pleased by.