BREAKING: US equities sell-off after negative preliminary GDP in Q1 📌

01:30 PM BST, United States - GDP data:

• GDP (Q1): actual -0.3% QoQ; forecast 0.2% QoQ; previous 2.4% QoQ;
• Real Consumer Spending (Q1): actual 1.8%; previous 4.0%;
• GDP Price Index (Q1): actual 3.7% QoQ; forecast 3.1% QoQ; previous 2.3% QoQ;
• Core PCE Prices (Q1): actual 3.50%; previous 2.60%;
• PCE Prices (Q1): actual 3.6%; previous 2.4%;
• GDP Sales (Q1): actual -2.5%; previous 3.3%;

Q1 GDP came lower than expected. Moreover, US Q4 GDP growth was also revised down to 2.4% annualized from 2.8% in Q3, with consumer spending slowing sharply to 1.8% from 4.0%, and final sales excluding inventories plunging to -2.5% from 3.3%. The data shows a troubling domestic picture, with weaker consumption and a major drag from net trade (-4.83%), while inventories contributed positively (+2.25%) as firms front-loaded imports. Inflation indicators were hotter than expected, with the GDP deflator at 3.7% (vs. 3.0% expected) and core PCE at 3.5% (vs. 3.3%). Despite some expectations for soft data, the overall report was worse than anticipated, signaling underlying weakness ahead as consumption slows and inventories likely reverse.