Stocks rise despite weak GDP
U.S. stocks opened higher across all indices after Wednesday’s record closes despite news of the slowest quarterly economic growth in nearly five years.
At 10:09 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was up 5.03 points, or 0.60 percent, to 848.38. Dow Jones Industrial Average had added 33.48 points, or 0.25 percent, to 13,666.38.
Preliminary numbers show the American economy grew at an annual rate of 0.6% during the first three months of 2007, the U.S. Commerce Department said before the opening bell. That’s the worst reading since the fourth quarter of 2002.
On the mergers and acquisitions front, Wachovia Corp. (NYSE: WB) will buy brokerage firm A.G. Edwards Inc. (NYSE: AGE) for $6.8 billion in cash and stock, the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank said before the start of trading.
The following were the most actively traded companies in Thursday's trading among those with market capitalizations under $500 million:
| Price at | % | ||||||
| 10:04 et | Change | Change | Volume | Year High | Year Low |
