US stocks tumble after economy shrank in Q1
Score one for “the stock market is the economy.”
US stocks are sliding in premarket trading after the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the advance estimate of first-quarter GDP showed a 0.3% contraction in the economy compared to Q4, at a seasonally adjusted and annualized rate. The average economist expected a slightly more modest contraction.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF was off about 0.6% prior to the data, but has more than doubled those losses to as much as -1.4%. Downside in the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF neared 2%.
Imports were a massive drag on growth, some of which can be explained by front-running to beat tariffs, which is reflected in (and offset by) a massive inventory build that added to growth.
If we’re looking for silver linings, consumption — the engine of US economic activity — surprised to the upside, up 1.8% quarter on quarter.