by Echo Wang
(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Thursday as the S & P-500 and Dow Jones hit udders before tipping into the red, as data indicated a decline in jobless claims in the United States suggesting that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has so far not slowed the economy.
The Dow Jones index lost 0.25%, or 90.55 points, to 36,398.08 points.
The larger S & P-500 lost 14.33 points, or 0.30%, to 4,778.73 points.
The Nasdaq Composite fell for its part by 24.65 points (0.16%) to 15,741.56 points.
Despite their decline on Thursday, the main Wall Street indices should end 2021 with a sharp increase over one year. The S & P-500 should thus have risen by more than 27%, the Nasdaq by about 23% and the Dow Jones by nearly 20%.
Investors were pleased with data released today by the US Department of Labor showing that weekly jobless claims fell unexpectedly in the United States.
In a context of low trading volume this holiday season, stocks have seen an upward trajectory, as is traditionally the case between Christmas and New Years.
They have been brought in recent days by information suggesting that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, considered to be highly contagious, would be less dangerous than the Delta variant in particular.
President Joe Biden’s senior infectious disease adviser, Anthony Fauci, said Wednesday he expected the peak of the epidemic wave caused by Omicron to occur in late January.
In 2022, investors’ attention will turn to the pace of interest rate hikes the Federal Reserve has planned to make, amid soaring inflation and problems in supply chains, but also on the midterm elections to the US Congress (“midterms”).
Of the eleven major sectors of the S & P-500, four ended Thursday’s session in the green, foremost among which is real estate.
In terms of values, Biogen fell more than 7% after Samsung BioLogics denied press reports that it was discussing the possible takeover of the American laboratory.
(French version Jean Terzian)