by Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq recording slight gains to continue their streak in the green, while investors remained cautious after comments from officials of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) on monetary policy.
The Dow Jones index lost 0.12%, or 40.33 points, to 34,112.27 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 4.40 points, or 0.10%, to 4,382.78 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced 10.56 points (0.08%) to 13,650.41 points.
Against a backdrop of hopes that the Fed has completed the cycle of monetary tightening started in March 2022 to stem galloping inflation, bond yields continued to fall. Ten-year US Treasury bonds have thus fallen significantly since their peak of more than 5% at the end of October.
This favored the rise of the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq, which have been in a series of sessions in the green without precedent for two years, thanks in particular to high-growth stocks. The Dow Jones was stopped after seven consecutive sessions of increase.
A large majority of market participants now expect the Fed to decide on a further pause in its rate hikes in December, after the central bank kept them unchanged at its meeting last week.
The hypothesis of a rate cut of at least 25 basis points by next May is also gaining credibility with the market, estimated at around 50% compared to 41% last week according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.
However, comments from several Fed officials in recent days have left the door open for additional hikes, raising questions among investors.
“Everyone kind of knows that we’re either going to have more hikes or (the Fed) is done, and they’re probably done,” said Jason Ware, chief investment officer of Albion Financial Group. The President of the American central bank, Jerome Powell, did not mention monetary policy this Wednesday in remarks prepared for a conference. He is due to speak again on Thursday.
On the stock side, Eli Lilly climbed 3.2% after the American drug regulator approved its weight loss treatment.
Warner Bros. Discovery plunged 19% after warning that strikes in Hollywood and a weak advertising market could weigh on its results next year. Take-Two Interactive Software rose 5.2% following the announcement of the release in early December of a trailer for the new opus of its successful video game “Grand Theft Auto”.
(French version Jean Terzian)
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