PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened in the red on Friday, the disappointing announcements of major technology stocks penalizing the entire rating but more particularly the Nasdaq, which is heading for a heavy drop over the month of ‘april.
A few minutes after the start of trade, the Dow Jones index lost 121.54 points, or 0.36%, to 33,794.85 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.86% to 4,250.49 points.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.69%, or 89.222 points, to 12,782.306.
The world’s largest e-commerce company Amazon fell 12.28% after announcing disappointing prospects due in particular to rising costs.
Intel for its part fell by 5.32% after presenting for the second quarter forecasts of turnover and profit below expectations, explaining fears of a slowdown in demand in the computer market and supply difficulties.
The decline is less marked for Apple (-0.40%) which warned that the repercussions of confinements in China and the war in Ukraine should weigh on its sales.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is heading for its worst monthly performance since November 2008 with a 10.2% drop so far.
Investors have shunned high-growth stocks since the start of the year, fearing that the Fed’s monetary tightening will affect future earnings. The market widely expects the Federal Reserve to raise rates by 50 basis points at its meeting on Wednesday in the face of rising inflation.
Monthly US household spending data show a stronger than expected rise in consumption in March and a rise in line with expectations for the core PCE price index. Over one year, this measure favored by the Fed, increased by 5.2%, against +5.3% in February and for the consensus.
(Laetitia Volga, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)