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NEW YORK, April 25 (Reuters) - Stocks ended lower on Friday afternoon, giving back more of this week's strong gains, as dour corporate news and a report showing anemic U.S. economic growth hit investor sentiment.
"Stocks are slip sliding away today as investors wring their hands over a number of concerns, ranging from a less-than-encouraging GDP report to the worldwide SARS epidemic," noted Tom Reynolds, analyst with market advisory Schaeffer's Investment Research, in his market update.
Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy's health, grew by 1.6 percent in the first quarter, a government report said, missing expectations for a GDP gain of 2.3 percent.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrials fell 133.69 points, or 1.58 percent, to 8,306.35. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 12.62 points, or 1.38 percent, to 898.81. The technology-packed Nasdaq Composite index dropped 22.69 points, or 1.56 percent, to 1,434.54, based on the latest figures.
For the week, the Dow fell about 0.40 percent, the Nasdaq gained approximately 0.63 percent and the S&P 500 index advanced 0.56 percent. (Additional reporting by Vivian Chu)