The U.S. Commerce Department said the U.S. gross domestic product rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent annual rate during the first quarter. Analysts had expected a growth rate of 0.5 percent in the first quarter.
Investors remained cautious ahead of an interest-rate decision from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is expected to announce a rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, to 2 percent at 2:15 p.m. EST, but then hold firm for the remainder of the year.
The market was also awaiting the Chicago purchasing managers' index, which was expected to show more business contraction in the Midwest during April.
Among companies in focus, General Motors lost 3.3 billion U.S. dollars in the first quarter as strong overseas growth was offset by weak U.S. sales. But the loss was smaller than Wall Street analysts had expected.
The Dow Jones rose 31.18 to 12,863.12. Broader indexes moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 3.82 to 1,394.76; and the Nasdaq rose 7.39 to 2,433.49.
