April was one of the wildest months in recent memory for markets, capped off by a key data release that showed the economy shrank last quarter for the first time in years.

U.S. stocks stumbled on Wednesday after data showed the economy contracted in the first quarter for the first time in three years, underscoring concerns about the impact of U.S. tariffs and the global trade war on worldwide growth.

An evenly split U.S. Senate rejected the latest bipartisan bid to block PresidentDonald Trump's tariffs on Wednesday, hours after the federal government reported that the nation's economy contracted for the first time in three years amid the chaos of the president's tariff policies.

American businesses are cancelling orders from China, postponing expansion plans and hunkering down to see what trade policy surprises President Donald Trump plans to spring on them next.

The economy shrank in the first quarter, weighed down by a deluge of goods imported by businesses eager to avoid higher costs, underscoring the disruptive nature of Trump's often chaotic tariff policy.