GDP Revision Reveals US Economy Grew Much Slower In First-Quarter Than Anticipated

U.S. stocks climbed on Wednesday despite a weak final reading on first-quarter GDP.Gross domestic product expanded at a 1.8 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in its final estimate on Wednesday. Output was previously reported to have risen at a 2.4 percent pace. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-quarter GDP to be left unrevised at 2.4 percent. The data comes on the heels of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments last week that the U.S. central bank would likely begin to slow the pace of its bond-buying stimulus program later this year.On the economic calendar for Thursday:  weekly jobless claims, personal income & consumer spending, the Core PCE price index, and pending home sales.As of 10:17am Eastern, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJIA gained 106.52 points, or 0.72 percent, to 14,866.83. The Standard and Poor's 500 Index rose 10.51 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,598.43.