By Jasper Jolly
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news as US figures show slowdown was less severe than expected
- Sports Direct shares fall as company delays results for a second time
- UK weather: rail travel disrupted after extreme heat causes chaos
- Santander trades accusations with banker denied top job
2.14pm BST
It might be enough for the Fed to stick to its guns and follow through on the widely expected rate cut next week.
Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics, said:
This slowdown just about justifies a 25 basis point cut by the Fed next week, but the chances of a bigger 50 basis point reduction just receded further.
Despite the weaker headline gain, consumption growth actually accelerated to 4.3% in the second quarter, from 1.1%. But business investment declined by 0.6%.
2.11pm BST
It looks like it might be a Goldilocks US GDP release for Wall Street: not too hot, not too cold.
Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York (via Reuters), said:
This is just what the market needed, not so soft that the economy is slowing down precipitously and not so strong that the Fed is going to reverse course.
We expected bad earnings and bad GDP numbers, but an upside on both is something markets are going to embrace today.
Source: US economy slows to 2.1% annual GDP growth in second quarter – business live
