Stock futures fell sharply Thursday after the latest U.S. economic data showed a sharp slowdown in growth and pointed to persistent inflation. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 419 points or 1.1%. S&P 500 futures slid 1.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.5%. U.S. gross domestic product expanded by 1.6% in the first quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast GDP growth would come in at 2.4%. Along with the downbeat growth rate for the quarter, the report showed consumer prices increased at a 3.4% pace, well above the previous quarter’s 1.8% advance. This raised concern over persistent inflation and put into question whether the Federal Reserve will be able to cut rates anytime soon. Meta plunged 12% in premarket trading after the social media giant issued light revenue guidance for the second quarter. That would be the stock’s biggest one-day decline since October 2022. International Business Machines also fell 8% after missing consensus estimates for first-quarter revenue. Meta’s report raises concern ahead of other big tech releases. Microsoft and Alphabet are slated to post earnings after the close Thursday. Nevertheless, iCapital chief investment strategist Anastasia Amoroso thinks that earnings look strong enough to boost stocks. “Even if the Fed does stand pat, I think this could be a supportive environment for stocks,” she said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday afternoon. “Return expectations for investors have actually improved since the beginning of April.” U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday morning after the first-quarter GDP report showed slowing growth and rising consumer prices. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbed 5 basis points to 4.706%, hitting its highest level since Nov. 2 of last year. The 2-year Treasury yield rose about 6 basis points to 4.995%. A basis point is equal to 0.01 percentage points. Asia-Pacific markets took a breather after two straight days of rallies, mirroring moves on Wall Street ahead of first-quarter gross domestic product figures from the U.S. due Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.16% to lead losses in the region before paring losses, closing at 37,628.48 while the Topix was down 1.74% and closing at 2,663.53. The yen was still trading firmly beyond the 155 mark against the greenback, at 155.63. South Korea’s Kospi also slipped 1.76% and ended at 2,628.62, while the small cap Kosdaq fell 1.04% to 853.26. Chinese indexes bucked the downtrend, however, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index up 0.39%, while China’s CSI 300 advanced 0.25% to finish at 3,530.28. Markets in Australia and New Zealand are closed for a public holiday. Crude oil futures pulled back Thursday after U.S. economic growth disappointed. West Texas Intermediate June contract: $82.85 a barrel, up 5 cents. Year to date, U.S. oil has gained nearly 16%. Brent June contract: $88.08 a barrel, up 7 cents. Year to date, the global benchmark has added more than 14%. Gold prices steadied on Wednesday as risk premiums over tensions in the Middle East eased while investors digested fresh data that reflected weaker-than-expected U.S. economic growth. Spot gold rose 0.75% to $2,333.11 per ounce, after having hit its lowest since April 5 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures added more than 0.2% at $2,344.20. Bullion prices have fallen over $100 after hitting a record high of $2,431.29 on April 12.