By Anora Mahmudova and Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Whole Foods Market plunges after earnings miss

U.S. stocks ended Thursday's choppy session little changed after data showed the economy picked up its pace in the second quarter, leaving the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates as soon as September.

Trading action was marked by swings in either director as investors digested data showed that the U.S. economy expanded (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-gdp-report-puts-fed-on-track-for-september-rate-hike-2015-07-30)at an annualized 2.3% rate in the second quarter, while first-quarter growth was increased from negative 0.2% to 0.6%.

The GDP report along with an employment report that indicated jobless claims rose last week after hitting a 40-year low but still remained near the lowest levels in decades, offered signs that the economy is on a healing path, albeit one considered slow by some measures.

The improvement in the economic picture, albeit sluggish by some measures, may have fueled some of the uncertainty in trading Thursday.

"If the Fed begins normalizing rates, it means they are confident the economy is doing well. Given the fact they are still maintaining the balance sheet and reinvesting means that the policy is still very accommodative, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network.

Taking a sanguine posture, McMillan noted that the Fed isn't "taking away the punch bowl yet, they are just not spiking it as much," referring to the Fed's attempt to tighten a nearly decadelong stretch of ulraloose monetary policy.

Initially the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 100 points in early trade, but finished only fractionally lower, down 5.41 points at 17,745.98.

The S&P 500 ended flat at 2,108.66, with six of its 10 main sectors closing higher. Gains in the utilities and materials sectors were offset by losses in energy and consumer staples stocks. Meanwhile, The Nasdaq Composite added 17.05 points, or 0.3%, at 5,128.78.

Overall, the reading on gross domestic product was better than expected, considering the first-quarter number was raised. The GDP numbers are likely to influence the Federal Reserve's decision on the timing of the first rate hike, according to analysts.

Growth was led by consumer spending on big-ticket items such as new cars as well as home construction, the government said Thursday.

"The U.S. economy bounced back in the second quarter as expected and revisions show that it expanded in the first quarter...," said Joseph Lake, global economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit in emailed notes.

See: U.S. GDP report puts Fed on track for September rate hike (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-gdp-report-puts-fed-on-track-for-september-rate-hike-2015-07-30).

Confirmation of a "decent first half to the year for the U.S. economy means that the Fed is on track to lift the federal-funds rate in September," Lake said.

Economic data:The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by 12,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-move-up-a-bit-from-four-decade-low-2015-07-30) to 267,000 in week ended July 25, the government said Thursday.

Read:What the huge change to how GDP is calculated means for U.S. economy (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-comes-the-big-fix-to-gdp-what-it-says-about-the-us-economy-2015-07-29)

The Fed on Wednesday kept rates on hold as expected, but hinted strongly that it is ready to start tightening monetary policy in the fall (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-will-raise-rates-in-september-2015-07-29), depending on improvement in incoming data.

The dollar rose on the expectations of a 2015 rate hike, and the ICE dollar index continued its ascent on Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-rises-against-yen-euro-after-fomc-2015-07-30-11033421) as well, rising 0.7% to 97.646.

Earnings:Whole Foods Market Inc.(WFM) plunged 12% after the supermarket chain on Wednesday posted earnings that missed forecasts. See: Whole Foods' stock is teetering on the edge of a scary technical cliff (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whole-foods-stock-is-teetering-on-the-edge-of-a-scary-technical-cliff-2015-07-30)

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) fell 4% after its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue slightly missed expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/procter-gamble-beats-profit-expectations-but-provides-downbeat-outlook-2015-07-30).

Air Products & Chemicals Inc.(APD) surged 6.1% after it reported profit and revenue that beat Wall Street average estimates.

Shares of Facebook Inc.(FB) lost 2.1% after the social-media company late Wednesday reported a drop in second-quarter earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-beats-profit-views-while-expenses-jump-2015-07-29-16485210).

U.S.-listed shares of Nokia Corp.(NOK) jumped 6.7% after the Finnish telecom-equipment company reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nokia-beats-expectations-on-higher-software-sales-2015-07-30-14854044).

U.S.-listed shares of Anheuser Busch InBev NV (ABI.BT) slumped 4.2% after the brewer said profit fell in the second quarter (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-inbev-profit-falls-on-us-europe-weakness-2015-07-30), as weakness in the U.S. and Europe weighed on sales volume.

Read more in today's Movers & Shakers column (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/time-warner-cable-conocophillips-mondelez-linkedin-earnings-in-focus-2015-07-29).

Other markets: Stock markets in Asia closed mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), with the Shanghai Composite Index shaving off an earlier gain and ending 2.2% lower.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index rose on the back of a round of well-received earnings reports (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).

10-year Treasurys (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasury-yields-rise-reverse-amid-gdp-data-month-end-extensions-2015-07-30) moved higher amid month-end buying, sending thee yield on the note, which moves inversely to prices, lower, down 1 basis points to 2.268%.

Gold futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-futures-drop-trade-near-512-year-low-2015-07-30) declined, settling 0.3% lower at $1,089.70, while crude-oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-gains-as-production-shows-signs-of-slowing-2015-07-30) edged higher, settling up 0.5% at $49.01 a barrel.

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