(New York) The New York Stock Exchange opened lower on Monday, falling after a record Dow Jones close last Friday, and already looking towards the publication of indicators on inflation at the end of the week.
Around 2:30 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones fell 0.30%, the NASDAQ index 0.27%, and the broader S&P 500 index 0.26%.
“We have seen a strong rise over the last three weeks and it is normal to see a slight decline as the market consolidates [le mouvement] that he has just known,” Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments commented to AFP.
On Friday, the Dow Jones (+0.81%) recorded a new closing record, the NASDAQ index gained 1.22% and the broader S&P 500 index 0.90%, driven by a report on employment in the United States better than expected.
The unemployment rate fell slightly in September in the United States, to 4.1% compared to 4.2% the previous month and 254,000 jobs were created, more than the 150,000 expected.
The bond market was still reacting to the report on Monday, with the yield on 10-year US government bonds reaching 4.01% compared to 3.96% at Friday’s close. At two years, it stood at 3.97%, after 3.92%.
These good indicators have reduced the chances of seeing the American central bank (Fed) continue its monetary easing at the same pace this year, after a reduction of 0.5 percentage points in September, according to specialists.
“This is a good thing for the real economy, because it shows that the American economy is still strong and doing well,” analyzed Adam Sarhan.
“But it’s not so good for inflation, because a stronger jobs report means potentially higher inflation,” he added.
Investors now have their sights set on the publication of indicators on inflation, including the CPI consumer price index on Thursday and the PPI producer price index on Friday.
The American market is also awaiting the minutes of the Fed meeting on Wednesday.
This week marks the start of the results season with notably the agri-food giant PespiCo on Tuesday and the airline Delta Air Lines on Thursday. Financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo will follow suit on Friday.
Concerning the current situation in the Middle East, “it is a concern, it would only take one strike for there to be a major escalation”, underlined Mr. Sarhan who added that “until now, the blood- cold prevails” in the markets.
A year after the Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, the conflict has now spread to Lebanon, where the Israeli army is carrying out strikes and incursions against the pro-Iranian Shiite movement Hezbollah.
In the stock market, the energy sector continued to do well: ExxonMobil advanced 0.58% and Chevron gained 0.41% after selling assets in Canada for $6.5 billion.
The hotel and casino group Wynn Resorts gained ground (+0.85%) after announcing Friday that it had obtained the first commercial gaming license issued in the United Arab Emirates.
Hershey chocolates lost 1.64% after an unfavorable note from the Swiss bank UBS according to which the group’s margin could be compressed due, in particular, to the increase in the price of cocoa.