by Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended mixed on Wednesday as an upward revision to third-quarter U.S. growth eased fears of a recession, while comments from Federal Reserve officials federal government (Fed) have maintained uncertainty over the duration of its monetary tightening.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.04%, or 13.44 points, to 35,430.42 points.
The broader S&P-500 lost 4.31 points, or 0.09%, to 4,550.58 points.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 23.27 points (0.16%) to 14,258.49 points.
While they had recorded gains at the start of the session, the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq finally fell into the red, with only the Dow Jones remaining slightly in the green, after the president of the Richmond Fed, Thomas Barkin , expressed skepticism that the US central bank had completed its cycle of monetary tightening.
He also left on the table the hypothesis of a further rate hike if inflation were to rebound again.
Investors favored caution on the eve of the highly anticipated publication of the report on personal consumption expenditure in the United States.
If the movements of the main Wall Street indices have been mixed since the start of the week, November is a very successful month, with the S&P-500 on track to record its highest monthly percentage increase since July 2022.
“The market had made significant gains, so there was some profit taking and repositioning. There is some form of consolidation happening,” commented Tim Ghriskey, strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.
“There have been solid results, there is a lot of optimism. And for this reason, a repositioning of the gains,” he stressed.
Marking a contrast with Thomas Barkin’s comments, one of the Fed’s governors, Christopher Waller, considered a conservative, expressed confidence Tuesday that the institution had probably reached the end of its hike campaign. rate.
Christopher Waller also suggested the possibility of a short-term rate cut to allow a “soft landing” for the American economy and avoid a recession.
“The Fed is on pause at the moment, but the mantra (for rates) is still ‘higher for longer,'” Tim Ghriskey said. “The economy continues to be relatively strong, so there is no reason for the Fed to cut rates and risk a rebound in inflation,” he added.
The US Department of Commerce reported an upward revision of its estimate of US gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, expected to increase by 5.2% year-on-year versus +4.9%. as a first estimate.
In its “beige book”, published in the afternoon, the Fed reports a modest slowdown in economic activity in its districts in recent weeks, due to its strict monetary policy.
Among the major sectors of the S&P-500, financials and real estate were the best performers, while communication services ended the session down 1.1%.
High-growth stocks, sensitive to interest rates, such as Microsoft and Apple, particularly weighed on the S&P-500. Humana and Cigna Group fell 5.5% and 8.1%, respectively, after the Wall Street Journal reported merger talks. General Motors jumped 9.4% following the announcement of a $10 billion share buyback program.
(French version Jean Terzian)
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