The New York Stock Exchange up slightly

(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended Thursday slightly higher, with the NASDAQ being the only index to emerge from the ambient lethargy thanks to a handful of technology stocks, in a market already focused on the publication of an inflation indicator on Friday.

The Dow Jones gained 0.09%, the NASDAQ index gained 0.30% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.09%. The NASDAQ is just a breath away from its all-time closing record.

“The market had a pretty good start, but it’s erased almost all of its gains,” said CFRA analyst Sam Stovall. “It’s reluctant to take a direction before the PCE is released.”

The PCE price index for May is due to be released on Friday before the New York Stock Exchange opens. It is the inflation indicator most closely followed by the US central bank (Fed). It is expected to be stable over one month, after increasing by 0.3% in April.

“A PCE in line with expectations or lower than expected would be positive,” says Sam Stovall. “It would instill the idea that the Fed will lower rates in the near future. »

The day’s indicators all depicted a slower economy, a prerequisite for curbing inflation.

The latest estimate for U.S. growth in the first quarter came in slightly above the previous estimate, at 1.4 percent annualized, “but still indicates that economic growth is slowing,” said Chris Zaccarelli, an analyst at Independent Advisor Alliance.

In addition, orders for durable goods increased by 0.1% in the United States in May over a month, but excluding transport, they fell by 0.1%, operators noted, which indicates a loss of momentum in investment, underlined Bernard Yaros, analyst at Oxford Economics.

As for new unemployment claims in the United States, they have fallen slightly, but the market has mainly retained the increase in the stock of registered workers, to the highest level since November 2021.

On the stock market, most sectors ended in the red, with the exception of technology.

Amazon stood out (+2.19%), as the day before, helped by a note from Bank of America, which highlights the potential for improvement in the group’s supply chain.

The online commerce giant was also buoyed by press information according to which Amazon is preparing to launch a new platform on its e-commerce site, dedicated to low-cost fashion, to compete with the Chinese groups Temu and Shein.

Amazon’s passage on Wednesday above the symbolic threshold of $2,000 billion in capitalization also gave the stock a boost.

The creative and professional software group Adobe (+3.42%) and Meta (+1.26%) also shone.

The movement was offset by a relaxation of semiconductors, whether Nvidia (-1.91%), Qualcomm (-1.10%) and especially Micron (-7.12%), sanctioned despite results above the expectations.

Some analysts saw the group’s forecasts as timid, judging the investments insufficient in view of the demand for the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI).

The New York market has been prompted to be cautious by several poorly-sourced publications.

Jeans legend Levi Strauss (-15.40%) paid dearly for lower-than-expected sales and disappointing forecasts. The group decided to discontinue its low-cost Denizen brand and limit promotions to restore its margins, but this is affecting its short-term growth.

The pharmacy and drugstore group Walgreens Boots Alliance (WGA) did worse (-22.16%) after missing the target for its quarterly result and lowering its annual objectives, partly due to slower activity in the United States.

Managing director Tim Wentworth said the group planned to close a significant number of stores, without specifying the number.

Walgreens’ main competitor, CVS Health Corporation, was swept away by the wave (-3.74%).