(CercleFinance.com) – Wall Street opened slightly higher on Wednesday pending the verdict of the Federal Reserve, which should announce before the close that it is raising its rates again by 75 basis points.
At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones index rose 0.5% to 30,875.5 points while the broader S&P 500 index rose 0.5% to 3,878.4 points, still below its support of 3,900 points. .
The Nasdaq Composite advances for its part by 0.4% to 11,475.4 points, also unable to recross upwards the threshold of 11,500 points.
If a few buybacks on the cheap – especially on securities related to technology and consumption – manage to support the trend, the attention of investors is mainly turned towards the decisions of the Fed.
The institution’s monetary policy statement will be released at 2:00 p.m. (New York time), followed 30 minutes later by its chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference.
Its indications for the sequence of events, and more particularly information concerning the future trajectory of rates, are eagerly awaited by the markets.
The likelihood of a 75 basis point rate hike remains widely favored, with 80% of traders voting, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Barometer, but the scenario of a 100 basis point hike seems increasingly hold the line, now winning 20% of the vote.
In terms of statistics, sales of old homes fell by 0.4% in August compared to July, according to the National Federation of Real Estate Agents (NAR), a figure which had no real consequence on the trend.
On the foreign exchange market, the dollar continues to regain ground against the euro, which is now trading below the 0.99 mark against the greenback, pending announcements from the Fed, while the yield on 10-year US government bonds fell to 3.56%.
In terms of energy, the barrel of American light crude (WTI) fell back by 0.7%, below 83.4 dollars, following the announcement of a concomitant increase in crude stocks, gasoline and distillates in the United States last week.
Regarding values, General Mills wins just over 7% after having revised upwards its forecasts for growth and profits for the current year.
Cisco fell back barely (-0.1%) in the wake of a deterioration of analysts at Barclays, who are worried about the repercussions of the economic slowdown on the activity of the network equipment manufacturer.
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