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NEW YORK, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks traded lower in the morning session Tuesday as investors meditated on the latest revision to the country's fourth-quarter economic growth.
By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 20.34 points, or 0.10 percent, to 20,817.10. The S&P 500 lost 5.38 points, or 0.23 percent, to 2,364.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 24.90 points, or 0.42 percent, to 5,837.00.
U.S. Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, missing market consensus of 2.1 percent, according to the second estimate released by the Commerce Department. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.5 percent.
Real GDP increased 1.6 percent in 2016, unchanged from the first estimate a month ago.
In a separate report, the department announced that the international trade deficit was 69.2 billion U.S. dollars in January, up from 64.4 billion dollars in December.
Meanwhile, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index came in at 114.8 in February, up from 111.6 in January.
Investors also kept a close eye on U.S. President Donald Trump, who is going to give his first speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. Markets expected Trump to unveil some elements of his plans to cut taxes, including tax cuts for the middle class, and simplification of the tax system.
On Monday, U.S. stocks kept rising, with the Dow extending its record run to a 12th straight session, as investors digested a batch of economic reports. Enditem
