U.S. stocks extend losses amid economic data

U.S. stocks slid in the morning session Thursday as investors digested an array of economic reports.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 49.82 points, or 0.25 percent, to 19,892.14. The S&P 500 lost 8.18 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,257.00. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 35.84 points, or 0.66 percent, to 5,435.59.

U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016, beating market consensus of 3.3 percent, according to the "third" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The third estimate is higher than the second estimate of 3.2 percent. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.4 percent.

In a separate report, the bureau announced that new orders for manufactured durable goods in November decreased 11 billion U.S. dollars or 4.6 percent to 228.2 billion dollars, exceeding market estimates.

Meanwhile, in the week ending Dec. 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 275,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 254,000, said the U.S. Labor Department.

The four-week moving average was 263,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 257,750.

"A solid reading for core capital goods orders was the biggest takeaway from this morning's data barrage. Business confidence has increased since the election, and it seems some are following up with more activity," said Jay Morelock, an economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended lower after wavering in a tight range as Wall Street meditated on a batch of mixed earnings results. Enditem