by Augustin Turpin
PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened mixed on Monday, as optimism over an anticipated cut in interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve faded, while airline stocks fell after the immobilization of certain Boeing aircraft, just like those of energy.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index lost 157.13 points, or -0.42% to 37,308.09 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.36% to 4,714.20 points. The Nasdaq Composite takes 0.89% or 130.96 points, to 14,655.031.
Geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea are weighing on transport costs and the war waged by Israel in the Gaza Strip is fueling fears of an extension of the conflict in Lebanon. However, the timing and extent of U.S. rate cuts remained a focus for investors.
The benchmark S&P 500 index suffered its worst week since late October on Friday, as uncertainty over rates was heightened by stronger-than-expected jobs numbers.
“We expect continued disinflation will ultimately lead the Fed to cut rates in May,” said Bruno Schneller, chief executive of INVICO Asset Management.
“However, given the mixed signals from inflation data, policymakers should refrain from easing measures until then,” he added.
In terms of values, Boeing fell 8.5% at 2:35 p.m. GMT after the incident that occurred on Friday on one of its 737 MAX 9 models, which led the American aviation authority to order the temporary immobilization of certain aircraft.
Alaska Air Group fell 5.6% after canceling more than 200 flights.
“Boeing’s reputation has been shaken after last Friday’s incident,” said Russ Mould, an analyst at AJ Bell.
“This is the latest in a series of problems for the company, which includes the grounding of 737 MAX plans in 2019 after two crashes and subsequent delivery delays and production issues,” he added .
Oil and gas companies are also down with the drop of more than 4% in crude prices. Chevron and Exxon Mobil are down 2.3% and 3.2%, respectively. Occidental Petroleum, Callon Petroleum, Devon Energy, Marathon Oil and APA fell from 1.9% to 3.4%. The S&P energy index hit its lowest level in three weeks, down 2.84%.
Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy lost 2.3% and 3.5%, respectively, after a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday that the two groups are close to merging to create a closely-knit natural gas company. of 17 billion dollars.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals fell 2.2% after reporting Monday that its eye treatment Eylea recorded preliminary fourth-quarter U.S. sales of $1.34 billion.
On the upside, Nvidia rose 2.2% after two sources familiar with the matter said the group plans to begin production of its artificial intelligence chip intended for the Chinese market from the second quarter of 2024.
Abercrombie & Fitch is up 5.4% after raising its fourth-quarter net sales forecast on Monday, driven by strong demand for its brands during the Christmas period.
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(Writing by Augustin Turpin, edited by Kate Entringer)
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