Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened moderately higher on Wednesday, even after data showed that U.S. first quarter growth was revised sharply lower and that durable goods orders fell unexpectedly last month.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow 30 edged up 0.07%, the S&P 500 added 0.18%, while the NASDAQ Composite rose 0.22%.
The Commerce Department said gross domestic product contracted at an annual rate of 2.9% in the first three months of the year, compared to the consensus forecast for a decline of 1.7%.
U.S. first quarter GDP was initially reported to have increased by 0.1%, but was subsequently revised to show a contraction of 1.0%.
The difference between the second and third estimate was the largest since records began in 1976, the Commerce Department said.
A separate report showed that U.S. durable goods orders fell 1.0% in May, while core durable goods orders fell 0.1%. Market expectations had been for an increase of 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) edged down 0.08% after the hotel chain said expansion into new Africa markets and a global economic recovery may boost revenue by as much as 10% this year.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) added to losses, down 0.26%, after U.S. accident investigators said the aircraft manufacturer's 777 complex automation system should be reviewed and improved, adding that it contributed to pilot confusion on the Asiana Airlines flight that crashed last year.
In the tech sector, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) climbed 0.57% as the company was expected to introduce at least one small set-top box similar tp products like Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s Fire TV, and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)'s Apple TV, during its developer conference later in the day.
Monsanto (NYSE:MON) was also on the upside, with shares surging 6.67%, after announcing a $10 billion stock buyback plan to boost investor returns after ending preliminary talks over a takeover of Syngenta (SIX:SYNN). The seed company also raised its full-year earnings forecast and posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit.
Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS) saw shares rally 5.79% even after reporting that fourth-quarter sales and revenue dropped. The company also announced that it will be splitting its bookstore chain and Nook electronic-reader business into separately traded companies in a bid to improve their performance.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 tumbled 1.19%, France’s CAC 40 plunged 1.34%, Germany's DAX declined 0.79%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 0.85%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dipped 0.06%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.71%.