Stocks lower on GDP growth

Strong growth in the nation’s gross domestic product spooked investors and sent stocks mostly lower Wednesday as the data renewed fears that the Federal Reserve would continue raising interest rates. Despite the drop, the market ended November with impressive gains.

Wall Street endured a third day of flat-to-lower trading despite a recent string of government reports that have painted an uplifting picture of the economy. The Commerce Department said the GDP rose at a 4.3 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, which reinforced the economy’s ability to handle record energy prices following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

The latest GDP figure, driven by growth in personal spending and business investment, was revised from a preliminary reading of 3.8 percent, and beat economists’ forecast of 4 percent growth and a 3.3 percent advance in the prior quarter.

While the Fed has signaled it might stop rate hikes should the economy weaken, the strong economic data is likely to prompt more rate increases, giving the markets pause after reaching 4 1/2 -year highs last week. But analysts said there is still room for stocks to advance.

“We’ve had a great four- to six-week run, and now the economic data has been far better than expected,” said Jack Caffrey, equity strategist for J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “So at this point, seeing the market consolidate here makes perfect sense.”

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 82.29, or 0.76 percent, to 10,805.87.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 8.00, or 0.64 percent, to 1,249.48, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.11, nearly flat, to 2,232.82.

Bonds continued to slip after Monday’s selloff, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising to 4.50 percent from 4.48 percent late Monday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices retreated.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 7 to 6 on the New York Stock Exchange, where preliminary consolidated volume came to 2.41 billion shares, compared to the 2.26 billion shares that changed hands on Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.60, or 0.53 percent, to 677.29.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average declined 0.37 percent. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 1.23 percent, France’s CAC-40 was lower by 0.46 percent for the session, and Germany’s DAX index fell 0.12 percent in late trading.