SPX: S&P 500 Limps Out of April with a Tough Win, Still Marks Third Losing Month in a Row

Broad market index clawed back as much as a 2.3% loss on the final trading day of April to come out just above the flatline.

🤿 S&P 500 Rebounds from Deep Session Lows

• The S&P 500 (SPX) eked out a modest gain on Wednesday, closing the month on a fragile high note after a late-session rebound helped it claw back steep intraday losses. But that wasn’t enough to erase the damage — April still went down as the third consecutive losing month for the broad benchmark.
• The first-quarter GDP reading, released early Wednesday, showed the US economy shrank by 0.3% — a stark reversal from the 2.4% growth clocked in the fourth quarter of last year. The report stoked fears of a looming recession and sparked a selloff that saw the S&P 500 dip as much as 2.3% midday, while the Dow Jones plunged more than 780 points.

🌪 Volatility, Politics, and a Last-Minute Turnaround

• Still, dip buyers gained courage near the end of the session, pushing both indexes into positive territory by the closing bell. The S&P 500, up 8 points, and the Dow, up 141 points, each logged their seventh straight day of gains, even if the journey there was a rollercoaster.
• Meanwhile, over on Truth Social, President Trump offered his spin on the weak GDP print, blaming the drop on a lingering “Biden Overhang” and urging Americans to “BE PATIENT!!!” as his new economic policies, he claimed, “will take a while” to kick in.

😎 May Setup Looking Fresh

• Despite the late bounce, April's tape was tough to watch. Tech lagged, rate-cut hopes were scaled back, and tariff games kept the macro backdrop tense. With three straight red months now on the scoreboard, investors are heading into the new month with new vigor.
• May trading looks to be starting off just right with futures on the S&P 500 floating above the flatline thanks to upbeat earnings results by Meta META and Microsoft MSFT released after the bell on Wednesday.