US growth beats expectations

US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers released today show a 3.2% annualised pace of growth for Q1 this year, surpassing analyst estimates of 2.3% growth. This was despite a number of issues overshadowing markets in the first quarter including trade tensions, a government shutdown and fears of a global economic growth slowdown. Several factors contributed to this growth figure, including higher defence spending and companies building up their inventory bases and net exports, while consumer spending and business spending actually slowed. Growth was also heavily concentrated in the Technology and Industrial sectors. US equity futures markets were relatively unchanged, edging slightly higher on the news. They are also being influenced by the ongoing earnings announcements, which continue to present a mixed set of results, with some big beats but also some big misses.