U.S. stocks open lower on GDP data

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, as newly-released data on GDP showed the U.S. economy grew at a weaker-than-expected pace in the second quarter.

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the second quarter, a moderate bounce from the revised 0.6 percent increase in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The growth in the second quarter was lower than the market expectation of over 2.5 percent.

The U.S. Federal Reserve said Wednesday the country's economy and job market have continued to improve since June, a sign that the central bank remains on track to raise interest rates later this year. But it didn't provide a clear signal for the rate hike timetable.

In the week ending July 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 267,000, an increase of 12,000 from the previous week's unrevised level, according to the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

In corporate news, Facebook shares fell 2.72 percent in early trading as the social media company's quarterly net income dropped 9.1 percent from a year earlier.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 40.75 points, or 0.23 percent, to 17,710.64. The S&P 500 lost 6.79 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,101.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 20.09 points, or 0.39 percent, to 5,091.64.

U.S. stocks continued to rise Wednesday as Wall Street assessed the Federal Reserve's statement released in the afternoon. Endi