Stocks are rebounding Friday, as the US economy slowed less than expected in the second quarter.
The economy expanded at a pace of 2.1% between April and June, compared with the consensus estimate of 1.8%, according to a survey conducted by Refinitiv. Nevertheless, GDP came down from 3.1% in the first quarter.
The report showed that the American consumer remained strong in the second quarter, both in terms of spending and confidence.
Stocks pared some of their gains following the data report, which came out before the opening bell.
Strong economic data could endanger next week’s expected and highly anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate cut. A strong economy won’t need to get a boost from looser monetary policy.
Nonetheless, stocks opened higher.
The Dow was flat, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite traded higher, up 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively.
The yield on 10-year US Treasuries bounced slightly higher to 2.0808% and the US dollar, measured by the ICE US Dollar Index, was 0.2% higher.
Meanwhile earnings season continues to roar on. Twitter and McDonald’s both reported before the bell, showing an increase in users for the social media platform and better-than-expected results for the fast-food chain.
Late Thursday, internet giants Google and Amazon reported earnings. Google parent Alphabet beat estimates, while Amazon ended four consecutive quarters of record profits.