The floor of the New York Stock Exchange (GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/SPENCER PLATT)
The New York Stock Exchange ended the month at half mast on Tuesday on the eve of a decision by the American central bank and after several mixed American data.
The Dow Jones index fell by 1.49% to 37,815.92 points, the Nasdaq, predominantly technological, accelerated its fall at the end of the session losing 2.04% to 15,657.82 points and the broader S&P 500 index lost 1.57% to 5,035.69 points.
After five consecutive months of gains, Wall Street has recorded its first month of losses.
“We had four figures today” on the American economy “and none were favorable for the stock market,” summarized Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers for AFP.
On the eve of a monetary decision by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the employment cost index rose faster than expected in the first quarter to 1.2%, the fastest pace in a year and a half .
In addition, real estate prices, according to the Case Shiller index closely followed by the markets, remain sharply rising (+6% on an annual basis in February) due to high rates on real estate loans and the low inventory of properties for sale. on the market.
The activity index in the highly industrial Chicago region contracted further to 37.9 points, the fifth monthly decline in a row.
Finally, American consumer confidence, measured by the Conference Board in April, collapsed to 97 points instead of the expected 103.5 points, a 17-month low.
“None of this is a good scenario for stocks. I am not claiming that stagflation is here but I admit to using the word more and more often,” suggested Mr. Sosnick referring to this state of the economy which would combine low or no growth with high inflation.
Bond rates rose to 4.68% compared to 4.61% the day before and the greenback strengthened as the start of a Fed rate cut seemed to be fading away.
We will know more about the position of the central bank’s Monetary Committee with President Jerome Powell’s press conference on Wednesday, while the market does not expect a rate cut from this meeting.
The dollar, boosted by the rise in bond rates, regained strength, reversing the trend at the start of the session.
In terms of corporate results, Amazon announced, after the market closed, results exceeding expectations in the first quarter, having tripled its net profit to $10.4 billion.
The title, which ended down 3.29%, recovered as much in electronic trading after Wall Street closed.
Shares of the Starbucks coffee chain were down after the close, falling 8.46% in electronic trading, after announcing a 4% decline in quarterly turnover.
Eli Lilly laboratories (+5.95%), the 3M conglomerate (+4.72%) and Coca-Cola (-0.44%) all published results above forecasts.
The soda giant’s turnover increased by 3%, to reach $11.3 billion, more than expected by a consensus of analysts.
McDonald’s lost 0.19% as the fast food chain’s results suffered in the first quarter of the conflict in Gaza.
The fast food giant became a prime target after its franchise in Israel announced in November that it was offering thousands of free meals to the Israeli army. The negative effect of the conflict in Gaza can be seen in its Franchised Markets branch in international development, whose turnover fell by 3% year-on-year.
© 2024 AFP
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