<p>Wall Street stocks slid on Thursday despite data showing the US economy contracted for a second straight quarter.</p>.<p>The drop follows a surge in Wall Street's main stock indices on Wednesday, after investors welcomed comments by US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell suggesting its next super-sized increase could be its last.</p>.<p>The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, its second hike in a row of that magnitude and the fourth increase this year.</p>.<p>"The reported basis for the positive response was a belief that the Fed Chair effectively lowered the temperature on the future pace of rate hikes," said market analyst Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com.</p>.<p>O'Hare said the reversal "is being pinned in part on the idea that the stock market overreacted to what the Fed Chair said yesterday."</p>.<p>While equities moved higher at the open of trading, they quickly fell back.</p>.<p>About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow was down 0.4 per cent, the broader S&P 500 shed 0.5 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite -- which jumped 4.1 per cent on Wednesday, gave up 0.8 per cent.</p>.<p>US gross domestic product (GDP) fell at an annual rate of 0.9 per cent in the April-June quarter, following a 1.6 per cent decline in the first quarter.</p>.<p>Two consecutive quarters of contraction in GDP is generally accepted as the technical definition of a recession.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, a key inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 7.1 per cent in the latest three months, the same pace as in the first quarter, the data showed.</p>.<p>The Fed and other central banks have been raising interest rates to rein in soaring inflation, but that risks slowing growth or even tipping the economy into recession.</p>.<p>European stock markets were mostly higher in afternoon trading.</p>.<p>Europe's energy sector was in particular focus with Britain's Shell and France's TotalEnergies posting bumper second-quarter profits on elevated oil and gas prices.</p>.<p>Asian indices mostly climbed following a surge on Wall Street, fuelled by hopes that the US central bank could slow its pace of inflation-fighting interest rate hikes.</p>.<p>The dollar meanwhile struggled to bounce back from a sell-off -- sitting at a month low against the yen -- that came in response to Powell's comments.</p>
<p>Wall Street stocks slid on Thursday despite data showing the US economy contracted for a second straight quarter.</p>.<p>The drop follows a surge in Wall Street's main stock indices on Wednesday, after investors welcomed comments by US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell suggesting its next super-sized increase could be its last.</p>.<p>The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point, its second hike in a row of that magnitude and the fourth increase this year.</p>.<p>"The reported basis for the positive response was a belief that the Fed Chair effectively lowered the temperature on the future pace of rate hikes," said market analyst Patrick J. O'Hare at Briefing.com.</p>.<p>O'Hare said the reversal "is being pinned in part on the idea that the stock market overreacted to what the Fed Chair said yesterday."</p>.<p>While equities moved higher at the open of trading, they quickly fell back.</p>.<p>About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow was down 0.4 per cent, the broader S&P 500 shed 0.5 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite -- which jumped 4.1 per cent on Wednesday, gave up 0.8 per cent.</p>.<p>US gross domestic product (GDP) fell at an annual rate of 0.9 per cent in the April-June quarter, following a 1.6 per cent decline in the first quarter.</p>.<p>Two consecutive quarters of contraction in GDP is generally accepted as the technical definition of a recession.</p>.<p>Meanwhile, a key inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 7.1 per cent in the latest three months, the same pace as in the first quarter, the data showed.</p>.<p>The Fed and other central banks have been raising interest rates to rein in soaring inflation, but that risks slowing growth or even tipping the economy into recession.</p>.<p>European stock markets were mostly higher in afternoon trading.</p>.<p>Europe's energy sector was in particular focus with Britain's Shell and France's TotalEnergies posting bumper second-quarter profits on elevated oil and gas prices.</p>.<p>Asian indices mostly climbed following a surge on Wall Street, fuelled by hopes that the US central bank could slow its pace of inflation-fighting interest rate hikes.</p>.<p>The dollar meanwhile struggled to bounce back from a sell-off -- sitting at a month low against the yen -- that came in response to Powell's comments.</p>