by Augustin Turpin
(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened lower on Wednesday as higher-than-expected U.S. retail sales data in December dampened expectations of an upcoming Fed interest rate cut. hurt by the comments of several central bankers this week.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index lost 138.78 points, or 0.37%, to 37,222.34 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.67% to 4,734.21 points.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.83%, or 123.54 points, to 14,820.81.
Data released Thursday by the U.S. Commerce Department showed higher-than-expected growth in retail sales in November. These figures, which come in addition to cautious comments from Christopher Waller, member of the Fed’s board of governors, on Tuesday, continue to undermine the scenario of an anticipated rate cut by central banks at the start of the year.
“Central bankers, whether it’s the Fed or the ECB, are saying it’s premature to talk about rate cuts just yet,” said Justin Onuekwusi, an analyst at investment group St. James’s Place.
“So there is a narrative from central banks that pushes back on those expectations and that causes a lot of volatility, but in reality it just unravels what we saw last quarter when markets became overly optimistic about rate cuts.” , he added.
“For the Fed, the numbers cast further doubt on the likelihood of a first interest rate cut in March, the odds of which get slimmer with each data release,” Stuart Cole, an analyst at Equiti Capital, said in a statement. London.
Industrial production in the United States, meanwhile, rose more than expected in December, according to data released Thursday.
Separately, mixed Chinese economic figures, which revealed an uneven recovery since the emergence of COVID-19, also weighed on sentiment and sent stocks in the world’s second-largest economy to their lowest level in nearly five years.
In terms of values, Chinese companies listed in the United States are declining. ALIBABA yields 2.4%, JD.COM 4.8%, PINDUODUO 2.5%, BAIDU 3.9%, and electric vehicle companies LI AUTO, NIO and XPENG yield between 4.8% and 6.8% .
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(Written by Augustin Turpin)
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