U.S. Economy Contracts in 1Q
The major indices pulled back Wednesday as the markets closed at lows of the session. The Dow dropped 178 points, falling below 18,000 for the first time in a week. Wednesday's losses have caused the Dow and S&P 500 to go negative for the week.
Of the 30 Dow stocks, 29 closed lower, with Apple the sole Dow gainer.
The market pullback comes as fears grow that there may not be a deal in Greece. Negotiations are expected to continue Thursday.
The star stock of the day? Netflix hit a lifetime high of more than $706 per share. This, in the wake of Tuesday night's announcement of a 7-for-1 stock split. Shares of Netflix fell after early gains, closing at $678.61. The stock was trading just slightly higher after hours.
Just as the stock hit those highs, activist investor Carl Icahn tweeted that he sold his remaining 1.4 million shares, reaping $874 million in gains.
Is the U.S. economy growing? Not exactly, but the picture is better than expected. The Commerce Department released a revised number for the first-quarter GDP Wednesday. The economy contracted .2%, which is less than the last estimate of .7%. The revision shows that consumer spending was stronger than previously estimated.