Wall Street slips on weak GDP, ends April with gains

Weighed by the dismal GDP growth rate in the United States, the major stock indexes of Wall Street closed the day on a negative note on Friday but recorded substantial weekly gains as the big corporations reported strong earnings throughout the week.

The U.S. economy recorded an annual 0.7% growth in the first quarter of 2017 on weak consumer spending, business investing and higher imports. This number marked the slowest growth rate of the past three years. Other data showed that the final reading of the UoM consumer confidence eased to 97 from 98. On the bright side, commenting on the UoM report, Richard Curtin, Surveys of Consumers chief economist, underlined that the level of optimism among Independents was pointing toward continued growth in consumer spending in 2017 at about a 2.5% pace.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 40.82 points, or 0.19 %, to 20,940.51, the S&P 500 fell 5.75 points, or 0.24%, to 2,384.19 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.33 points, or 0.02%, to 6,047.61.

On a weekly basis, the Dow gained 1.9%, while the S&P rose 1.5% and the Nasdaq added 2.3%, including a record close on Wednesday. For the month of April, the Dow was up 1.3%, the S&P rose 0.9%, and the Nasdaq gained 2.3%.

Headlines from the U.S. session

• CME Group FedWatch: Market expectations for a June rate hike at 63.1%
• US Dollar Index posts lowest monthly close since October
• US: Key events for next week - Danske Bank
• NY Fed Nowcast: GDP growth 2.7% for 2017:Q1 and 2.3% for 2017:Q2
• US Q1 GDP: Sluggish start of the year, rebound expected - Wells Fargo
• U.S. Secretary of State Tillerson: Threats of nuclear attack on Japan and South Korea 'are real'
• British PM May: North Korean missile tests represent threat to global peace and stability
• US: Consumer sentiment eases to 97 in final (Apr) reading - UoM
• US: Real GDP increased at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first quarter of 2017