At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,173.10, down 243.75 points (1.40 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 sank 25.94 (1.28 percent) to 1,995.31, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 48.17 (1.03 percent) to 4,635.31.

US economic growth came in at 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, well below the 5.0 percent in the prior quarter, according to Commerce Department data.

Analysts also pointed to the drag from a eurozone inflation report, which showed consumer prices fell by a record 0.6 percent in January, raising fears that deflation is taking hold in the region.

A busy week of corporate earnings produced mixed results, with some companies pointing to the drag from the strong dollar.

"The market is pretty cautious," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities. "We came into this earnings season with expectations for more than we're getting."