NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street closed mixed on Friday, reassured by the moderate rise in inflation in December, but weighed down by poor prospects for Intel, a heavyweight in the technology sector.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.16%, to 38,109.43 points.
The broader S&P-500 lost 0.07% to 4,890.97 points.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.36% to 15,455.36 points.
Over the past week, the three major indices recorded their third consecutive weekly increase (+1.06% for the S&P, +0.65% for the Dow and +0.94% for the Nasdaq).
The PCE consumer price index rose 0.2 percent last month, compared with a 0.1 percent decline in November, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Friday. Over one year, it increased by 2.6%.
The core inflation index, which excludes the volatile elements of energy and food products, rose to 2.9% at an annual rate, its lowest increase since March 2021, compared to an increase of 3 .2% recorded in November.
The “core PCE” index is thus below 3% over one year for the third consecutive month, which supports the scenario of rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
“These are good numbers,” commented Peter Cardillo, markets economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. “Coupled with the gross domestic product figures (Thursday), this statistic reinforces the possibility of a soft landing.”
The US economy grew more than expected in the fourth quarter, according to data released Thursday.
Intel plunged 11.9% to a six-week low after reporting a revenue outlook that was well below expectations. Intel supplier KLA Corp fell 6.6%.
Along with Intel, Apple also weighed on the S&P, losing 1% less than a week before its quarterly results.
Conversely, American Express increased by 7.1% after announcing that it was forecasting an annual profit higher than forecasts for 2024.
(Noel Randewich, Ankika Biswas, Jean-Stéphane Brosse for the French version)
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