PARIS (Reuters) – American stock markets opened lower on Friday on Wall Street after the publication of a stronger than expected producer price indicator, which raised fears that inflationary pressures would remain significant.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index lost 90.24 points, or 0.23% to 38,695.94 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.10% to 5,024.66 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.06% or 8.77 points, to 15,897.401.
The producer price indicator in the United States rebounded more than expected in January, to 0.9% year-on-year against 0.6% expected.
Earlier in the week, CPI inflation also showed an increase, and Friday’s indicator therefore revives fears that inflationary pressures will remain higher than estimated.
The markets have revised downwards their expectations of rate cuts for this year: the money markets are now only factoring in 85 basis points of easing this year, compared to up to more than 125 basis points expected a month earlier .
The Federal Reserve announced in December that it was planning three rate cuts in 2024, or 75 basis points of easing.
In terms of values, Nike lost 1.36% after announcing Thursday to cut around 2% of its workforce, or more than 1,600 jobs, as the sportswear giant seeks to reduce its costs after recording lower profits this year.
Applied Materials gained 5.35% after reporting second-quarter revenue on Thursday that exceeded Wall Street estimates.
(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)
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