US stocks slip following weak economic growth report

U.S. stock indexes headed slightly lower in late-afternoon trading Thursday after the government reported that economic growth slowed down at the end of last year.

Energy, consumer products and materials companies weighed most on the market, offsetting gains in consumer goods and real estate stocks.

The market is still heading for its best start of the year since 1991, in stark contrast to a dismal end to 2018, when a plunge almost put an end to the bull market. The gains so far this year are being pushed by investor confidence in prospects for steady growth and an increasingly hands-off Federal Reserve.

The latest figures show that the U.S. economy grew in the fourth quarter at its slowest pace since the beginning of 2018.