American actions were mixed on Wednesday, ending a turbulent April marked by economic contraction and the uncertainty of commercial policy.
The S&P 500 increased by 0.15%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.086%, and the industrial average of Dow Jones has won 141 points after new data has shown that the American economy has decreased for the first time since 2022.
According to the Commerce Department, the first quarter GDP dropped to an annualized rate of 0.3%, reversing a gain of 2.4% compared to the previous quarter.
The contraction was partly attributed to an increase of 41% of imports while companies are stored before the new prices of President Trump.
Consumer expenditure has also slowed down at its lowest pace in more than a year, and public spending has decreased, moreover resulting in growth.
Price uncertainty
The markets had rallied earlier in the month after Trump interrupted certain prices and alludes to trade agreements with countries like India. However, renewed volatility has returned as investors digested low economic data, inflationary concerns and the lack of clarity on commercial negotiations.
April losses follow a clear drop after Trump’s announcement on April 2 of “reciprocal” prices, which lowered the S&P 500 by more than 11% at a given time.
On Truth Social, Trump sought to blame the economic slide, writing: “It is the Biden stock market, not that of Trump”, and said that a “overhang of Biden” was behind the bad figures. He urged patience, saying that his policies would take the time to provide results.
The stock market under the second term of Trump posted one of the lowest performance for the president’s first 100 days in modern history.
Analysts underline the continuous uncertainty of politics as the main cause. “This is very clearly caused by uncertainty surrounding the prices, period,” said Kelly Bouchillon by Sound View-Wealth Advisors.
Meanwhile, large companies like First Solar and Ge Healthcare have reduced forecasts due to winds related to prices. Nvidia actions also slipped, following the disappointing results of Super Micro Computer.
