by Saeed Azhar and Amruta Khandekar
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Thursday as economic data released during the day showed the resilience of the U.S. economy raising concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) will keep rates high. for an extended period.
The Dow Jones index fell -0.84%, or 290.91 points, to 34,474.83 points.
The broader S&P-500 lost 33.97 points, or -0.77%, to 4,370.36 points.
The Nasdaq Composite fell for its part by 157.7 points (-1.17%) to 13,316.93 points.
The health sector also weighed on the indices, the S&P 500 having been particularly affected by the fall of CVS Health Corp after the announcement of the insurer Blue Shield of California to abandon the American group as a manager of services. pharmaceutical companies to work with Amazon and others to reduce drug costs for its customers.
Other major insurers UnitedHealth and Cigna also fell, dragging the healthcare compartment in their wake.
Data released on Thursday showed the resilience of the U.S. economy, stoking fears the Fed could keep interest rates high for longer to fight inflation.
The yield of ten-year Treasuries rose to its highest level since October on Thursday.
“The market could be choppy in the near term as we either wait for earnings to move up or yields to fall,” said Jeffrey Buchbinder, chief strategist at LPL Financials.
Jobless claims fell in the United States during the week to August 12, the Labor Department announced on Thursday.
The release of the minutes of the Fed’s July monetary policy meeting showed that US central bank officials were still determined to fight inflation.
Market weakness in recent days has been driven by strong growth in the U.S. economy, raising fears that the Fed will keep “rates high for longer,” said Barry Bannister, chief strategist at Stifel.
In stocks, Cisco rose after encouraging statements from management on the opportunities created by artificial intelligence that eclipsed a forecast of full-year revenue below expectations.
Pfizer was also on the rise after announcing that the new version of its COVID-19 vaccine showed neutralizing action against the “Eris” subvariant in a mouse study.
Walmart ended lower, despite posting better-than-expected quarterly results and raising its full-year guidance.
(Report Amruta Khandekar and Shristi Achar A; French version Camille Raynaud)
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