U.S. stocks trade mixed amid GDP data, earnings

U.S. stocks trimmed early losses and traded mixed on Thursday, as investors assessed newly-released second quarter GDP and earnings, a day after the Fed left interest rate unchanged.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 20.61 points, or 0.12 percent, to 17,730.78. The S&P 500 lost 2.89 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,105.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 3.71 points, or 0.07 percent, to 5,115.44.

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 on Wednesday said the country's economy and job market continued to improve since June, a sign that the central bank remains on track to raise interest rate 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 over 3 percent in the morning session on Thursday, as the social media company's quarterly net income dropped 9.1 percent from a year earlier.

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