US stock market opens lower

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) - The U.S. stock market opened lower Thursday after key macroeconomic data came below market expectations.

The Dow fell 72 points to begin trading at 21,302 points, and the S&P 500 lost 14 points to 2,423 points.

The Nasdaq decreased 62 points to start the day at 6,132 points.

Industrial production remained unchanged in May, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced earlier. The market expectation was a 0.2 percent increase.

Manufacturing production decreased 0.4 percent in May, while it was estimated to rise 0.1 percent, according to the Fed.

American economy grew only 0.7 percent in the first quarter of the year -- the lowest quarterly growth rate in the last three years -- but this was later revised to 1.2 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce on May 26.

President Donald Trump’s administration targets an economic growth of 3 percent or higher, but this level is difficult to reach in the short- and medium-term, experts said.