After a fall in the morning, US stocks were pushed into the green, ending the day after an economic report from the Commerce Department was released, revealing that the US economy had signed in the first quarter.
The S&P 500 and Dow recorded a seven-day winning streak, the best ongoing rally of the year. However, the index closed in April in red as the stock market is about to recover from the sudden slump caused by President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The division reported that it registered at an annual rate of -0.3%, with gross annual product (GDP). This is a sharp slowdown from its 2.4% growth rate in the fourth quarter, well below economists’ expectations for an increase of 0.8%.
In response, Trump defended his administration’s economic records and denounced former President Joe Biden for the current agenda. “I’m not taking stock market credit or credit, I’m just saying we’ve taken over the confusion,” he said.
If you’re just joining us, here’s a summary of today’s important economic news:
Republican and Democrats’ reaction: Republican senators have expressed concern over the latest economic data but said they hope that Trump’s vast legislative agenda, including tax cuts, could pass this summer and potentially bring the economy back on track. Republicans reflected Trump’s comments and denounced Biden for the current state of the economy. Meanwhile, Democrat Sen. Peter Welch said, “People who are US presidents are burdened with the benefits of what the economy is doing or what it is doing.”
Trump’s advisor spins: The president’s special counselor, Peter Navarro, tried to spin the GDP report as “very positive news” for Americans, touting how tariffs are driving a “risky amount” of domestic investment. “This was, as they say in trade, the best negative print I’ve ever seen for GDP I’ve ever seen. It really should be very positive news for America,” Navarro said.
Inflation has cooled: Other economic news shows that inflation has slowed sharply in March, approaching the 2% Fed’s target, with consumer spending continuing to drive the economy. read more.
Calling a recession is too early: The latest GDP report shows a significant slowdown, but does not necessarily indicate that the US is in a recession. CNN’s Matt Egan explains why this contraction doesn’t automatically equal a recession.
Maureen Chowdhury, Donald Judd, Morgan Rimmer, Alison Main, Manu Raju, Casey Riddle, Kit Maher, Alicia Wallace, Bryan Mena and Matt Eagan from CNN contributed to this report.
This post was updated with details of US stock market performance today and in April.