U.S. stocks extend losses amid economic data

U.S. stocks declined Thursday as investors digested an array of economic reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.08 points, or 0.12 percent, to 19,918.88. The S&P 500 lost 4.22 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,260.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 24.01 points, or 0.44 percent, to 5,447.42.

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.

U.S. personal income in November increased 1.6 billion dollars, or less than 0.1 percent, the Commerce Department announced in another report. Disposable personal income decreased 1.3 billion dollars and personal consumption expenditures increased 24.0 billion dollars.

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.

"November was marked by unexpected weakness in income, spending and inflation. On its own, the month was disappointing for households. But because September and October were solid in all three respects, November's disappointment does not suggest improving trends are breaking down," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial. Enditem