Wall Street opens lower as investors assess the GDP data

Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day in the negative territory on Friday despite the strong first-quarter GDP expansion figure, the first estimate, published by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.17% on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were losing 0.25% and 0.9%, respectively.

The details of the BEA's press release revealed that the economic growth in the first quarter was boosted by temporary factors such as government spending and inventories to offset the potential positive impact of the Q1 GDP reading of 3.2%, which was above the market expectation of 2.1%.

On the other hand, today's earnings figures painted a mixed picture, not allowing market sentiment to improve. Among the 11 S&P 500 major sectors, Technology and Energy are both down more than 1% in the early trade while Utilities and Consumer Staples gain around 0.5% to lead winners.