PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened slightly higher after the publication of monthly retail sales statistics in the United States which showed weaker growth than expected, supporting expectations of a soft landing of the American economy and an upcoming reduction in key rates.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 47.69 points, or 0.12%, to 38,825.79 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.19% to 5,483. 67 points.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.11%, or 20.30 points, to 17,877.32 after recording a sixth consecutive closing record on Monday.
An hour before the New York Stock Exchange opened, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales rebounded in May by 0.1% month over month, but that rebound is weaker than the 0.3% increase anticipated by economists polled by Reuters.
On the bond market, the yield on ten-year US Treasury bonds fell by more than three basis points, to 4.2517%, as the markets revised upwards their expectations of the pace of rate reduction by the Federal Reserve American (Fed), now counting on two declines, according to the FedWatch barometer.
“The weaker than expected data tells me that consumers are still going through a difficult time and that the economy continues to advance, but at a slower pace,” said Robert Pavlik, portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management.
“The Fed needs to start thinking about lowering interest rates, perhaps before the end of the year,” he added.
On the stock market, the new technologies (+0.49%) and semiconductors (+0.79%) compartments are in the green.
Apple (+0.67%), Microsoft (+0.04%) are in demand, while semiconductor manufacturers Nvidia, Broadcom, Micron and Arm Holdings gain by 0.30% to 4.51%.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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