US stocks fall on poor Q1 growth

This Oct. 2, 2014, file photo shows the Wall Street entrance of the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. Wall Street stocks finished lower Wednesday, April 29, 2015, on news the US economy grew just 0.2 percent in the first quarter. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK–Wall Street stocks finished lower Wednesday on news the US economy grew just 0.2 percent in the first quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74.61 points (0.41 percent) to 18,035.53.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 7.91 (0.37 percent) to 2,106.85, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 31.78 (0.63 percent) to 5,023.64.

Stocks were in the red all day after first-quarter growth came in well below the 1.0 percent projected by analysts due in part to extremely harsh winter weather in some regions and the West Coast port strike.

Later Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve said the slower growth was due “in part” to transitory factors and that the economy should resume expanding at a “moderate pace.”

That suggested the Fed still expects to begin a slow series of rate rises in the coming months, though not likely in June as many analysts had been expecting until recently.

Twitter fell another 8.9 percent after Tuesday’s 18.2 percent loss, which followed the company’s report that as first-quarter revenues came in at $436 million, $20 million below expectations.

Cloud-computing company Salesforce bolted 11.6 percent higher on a Bloomberg report that it was working with bankers to field bids after being approached by a potential acquirer.

Wynn Resorts sank 16.6 percent after reporting a first-quarter loss of $44.6 million and announcing it would slash its dividend from $1.50 per share to 50 cents per share.

Both Delta Air Lines and United Continental fell 2.5 percent on higher oil prices.

Food company Mondelez International gained 5.2 percent as first-quarter earnings nearly doubled to $324 million from $163 million in the year-ago period, despite the drag of the strong dollar.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide vaulted 8.3 percent higher after announcing it hired investment bank Lazard to undertake a strategic review of the company to enhance shareholder value. The move sparked speculation that Starwood, which owns the Westin hotel chain, could be acquired.

Perrigo, which manufactures Sudafed and other over-the-counter drugs, fell 0.9 percent after opposing the latest buyout offer from Mylan. Mylan, which is also fighting an unsolicited offer from Teva, rose 2.5 percent. Teva gained 1.3 percent.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.04 percent from 2.00 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.76 percent from 2.70 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.