Tough sledding for stocks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks futures pointed to a tough start for Wall Street Thursday after the final reading on first quarter economic growth edged higher but also showed a pickup in a key inflation reading.

Investors were also awaiting the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates, due at at about 2:15 p.m. ET.

S&P and Nasdaq futures edged lower just ahead of the open.

Stocks have had trouble holding on to gains all week, but they managed a rally Wednesday, snapping a three-session losing streak.

The Commerce Department released its final revision of first-quarter economic growth, which showed the nation's economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the first quarter than previous estimates, but the reading also included slightly higher inflation pressures.

The gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, had an annual growth rate of 0.7 percent in the first three months of the year. The reading was the weakest in more than four years as businesses sold off inventories but consumer spending remained strong. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected the GDP to be revised up to 0.8 percent growth in the quarter from only a 0.6 percent gain in the estimate of a month ago.

Economic growth and inflation will be key issues later in the day as investors await the close of the Fed's two-day policy meeting. Central bank policymakers are widely expected to keep the target for a key short-term interest rate unchanged at 5.25 percent, but as always, investors will have their eyes glued on the policy statement due at 2:15 p.m. ET.

The slowdown in housing is a key factor for both economic growth and the Fed's decision on rates. Builder KB Home (Charts, Fortune 500) reported an unexpected quarterly net loss of $1.93 a share as revenue tumbled due to the weak housing market. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had forecast a profit of 7 cents a share.. Earlier this week, No. 1 home builder Lennar (Charts, Fortune 500) posted an unexpected loss in the period instead of the narrow profit that had been expected.

Another troubled home builder, Beazer Homes USA (Charts, Fortune 500), announced after the bell Wednesday that it fired its chief accounting officer for attempting to destroy documents related to an internal investigation of the company's mortgage origination business and related matters. The company had previously disclosed it is the subject of a federal probe. Shares of the stock fell nearly 2 percent in after-hours activity on the news.

Capital One Financial (Charts, Fortune 500), the credit card issuer and banking company, said Wednesday it expects to eliminate about 2,000 jobs, or 6 percent of its workforce, as it struggles with mortgage banking losses and higher credit costs. Its shares rose 1.5 percent in after-hours trading following the announcement.

Two firms are poised to make rival bids for Spanish tobacco firm Altadis, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Imperial Tobacco Group (Charts) of London and Luxembourg private equity firm CVC Capital Partners are expected to make rival offers that value the company at $17.5 billion, the newspaper said. Shares of Imperial Tobacco fell 0.6 percent in early London trading.

In global trade, European shares got off to a positive start, lifted by Wall Street's rebound. Markets in Asia also advanced. The dollar was lower against the euro but higher versus the yen in early trading ahead of the GDP report.

Treasury prices were slightly lower ahead of the economic reading and Fed statement, taking the yield on the 10-year note to 5.09 percent from 5.08 percent late Wednesday.

Oil prices were higher in early trading. U.S. light crude gained 24 cents to $69.21 a barrel in electronic trading.