PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Friday, investors seeming to have digested the restrictive remarks made the day before by the President of the American Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, to turn to the numerous macroeconomic indicators expected next week .
About ten minutes after the first exchanges, the Dow Jones index gained 114.07 points, or 0.34%, to 34,006.01 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 increased by 0.49% to 4,368, 79 points.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.71%, or 96.53 points, to 13,617.98.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Jerome Powell said Thursday that Fed officials “are not convinced” that interest rates are high enough to combat inflation.
This message, considered restrictive, caused yields on US Treasury bonds to rise, but on Friday the ten-year rate fell by more than four basis points, to 4.5865%.
Twenty-four hours later, some analyzes now believe that Jerome Powell’s comments were consistent with the classic rhetoric of “high rates for a long time” and that there was nothing new.
“Investors are seeing corporate profits remain strong and the economy resilient. So all eyes are on further economic data or comments from the Fed that could provide better insight into the future direction of the economy and markets,” writes Greg Bassuk, president and CEO of AXS Investments.
Next week will be marked by the release of consumer and producer price figures as well as retail sales statistics, which could provide clues about future Fed decisions before the December 13 meeting.
Traders estimate with a probability of around 66% that the Fed will cut rates at the June 2024 meeting.
In stocks, technology and growth groups, sensitive to rate fluctuations, such as Nvidia and Tesla advanced by 1.82% and 1.43% respectively.
Illumina falls 11.98% after lowering its annual adjusted earnings per share forecast.
Capri fell 2.19%, as Jimmy Choo’s parent company missed consensus on revenue and profit for the past quarter due to lower demand for luxury shoes and handbags, in particularly in the Americas.
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(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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