Stocks open sharply higher after GDP report

NEW YORK - Wall Street is feeling more upbeat after a government report showing that the economy contracted in the third quarter by less than expected and after the Federal Reserve's second interest rate cut in a month. Stocks are up sharply in early trading.

The Commerce Department says the gross domestic product, the measure of all goods and services produced within the U.S., fell at a 0.3 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter, rather than 0.5 percent the market expected.
That added to Wall Street's good mood a day after the Fed's decision to lower its fed funds rate by a half-point to 1 percent.

The Dow Jones industrials are up 200 at the 9,189 level, a 2.2 percent gain. The other major indexes are also showing gains of more than 2 percent.

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