PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened lower again on Friday, still affected by the rise in bond yields after the last statements by the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) suggesting a policy of sharply rising interest rates. interest this year.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index lost 281.9 points, or 0.81%, to 34,510.86 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.66% to 4,364.33 points.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.3%, or 39 points, to 13,135.64.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that a 50 basis point interest rate hike would be “on the table” at the institution’s May 3-4 monetary policy meeting.
Traders now expect 88.2% on the probability of a half-point rate hike in May and 11.8% on a 75-point hike.
The yield on ten-year Treasuries rose nearly two points to 2.935% and that of two years by eight points to 2.778%.
Fears of an acceleration of monetary tightening have weighed on the markets for months as inflation hit a 40-year high in the United States.
Since the beginning of the year, the Nasdaq, rich in technology stocks, particularly sensitive to changes in interest rates, has fallen 15.9%, against a contraction of 7.8% for the S&P-500.
Digital giants like Apple and Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon are still falling back.
Side business results, Gap and Verizon Communications yield respectively 19% and 5% after their forecasts, while the profits generated by Schlumberger (+2%) in the first quarter are welcomed.
Of the 88 S&P-500 companies reporting quarterly results, 80.7% beat expectations, according to Refinitiv data, compared to usually about 66%.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Sophie Louet)