The Commerce Department released a report showing the pace of U.S. economic growth unexpectedly surged by more than previously estimated in the third quarter. The GDP shot up by 3.1% in the third quarter, reflecting an upward revision from the 2.8% jump previously reported.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended December 14th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 220,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 242,000.

Housing stocks extended Wednesday's sell-off, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index tumbling by 2.6%. The continued weakness among housing stocks came even though the National Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales spiked to an eight-month high in November. Commercial real estate stocks too were considerably weak, as reflected by the 1.6% loss posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index. Semiconductor stocks moved significantly downwards dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down by 1.6%. Computer hardware, oil producer and steel stocks too were notably weak while airline stocks moved sharply higher. Micron (MU) led the sector lower, plummeting by 16.2% after reporting better than expected fiscal first quarter earnings but providing disappointing fiscal second quarter guidance.

Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly lower Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.7%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4%. The major European markets moved downwards on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slumped by 1.1%, the French CAC 40 Index tumbled by 1.2% and the German DAX Index dove by 1.4%.

In the bond market, treasuries extended the steep drop seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 7.6 bps to a six-month closing high of 4.57%.

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