Dow Jones sheds over 500 points after record contraction in GDP

The major US stock indices slumped on Thursday, after release of weak data that showed the largest quarterly contraction in the US history.

The advance reading of the US GDP showed a contraction of 32.9% in the second quarter as consumer spending fell by 34.6% during the same period.

Additionally, the weekly unemployment claims rose 12,000 to 1.434 million during the past week, compared to forecasts of 1.5 million.

Meanwhile the market has digested the Federal Reserve's decision yesterday, to maintain rates near zero, in addition to Chairman Jerome Powell asserting readiness to use all available tools to bolster the economy against the coronavirus pandemic.

As for stocks, Dow Jones lost 1.9% or 507 points to 26,032 as of 14:00 GMT, Nasdaq fell 1.1% or 114 points to 10,428, and S&P 500 fell 1.5% or 50 points to 3,208.