(New York) The New York Stock Exchange closed lower on Monday, taking a break, in a market marked by a holiday and expecting a crucial inflation figure later in the week.
Updated yesterday at 4:51 p.m.
The Dow Jones index fell 0.32% to 29,202.88 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ dropped 1.04% to 10,542.10 points and the broader S&P 500 index 0.75% to 3612. .39 points.
“Trading was fairly calm, albeit variable, in the absence of major indicators, with the bond market closed to observe the Columbus Day holiday,” Schwab analysts summed up in a note.
For Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments, the market was “pausing to digest the massive sales of the last six weeks while waiting for very important data, those of inflation as well as the start of the corporate earnings season”.
Investors will indeed watch for the US producer price index for September scheduled for Wednesday, that of consumer prices on Thursday and retail sales on Friday.
The CPI inflation index should still be above 8% year-on-year for the seventh consecutive month.
Friday, it will also take into account the opening of the earnings season which begins with four of the largest global banks: JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley.
“So we have two catalyst events that are going to happen this week: inflation and corporate earnings. Investors are in a wait-and-see attitude before seeing more clearly on the evolution of prices and the health of companies, ”explained Adam Sarhan to AFP.
On the side of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), Vice President Lael Brainard warned in a speech that “monetary policy will be restrictive for some time to ensure that inflation recedes”. She also warned that the moderation in economic growth due to the tightening of financial conditions was not yet fully visible.
In the foreign exchange market, the dollar was still gaining ground against the euro, still boosted by the buoyant US employment data published on Friday and by its status as a safe haven in the face of fears of an escalation in the war between Russia and the Ukraine.
Around 4:30 p.m. EDT, the greenback gained 0.40% against the European currency, to 0.9705 dollars for one euro, approaching its highest since 2002 reached at the end of September at 0.9536 dollars for one euro.
On the stock market, seven out of eleven sectors ended in the red, starting with energy (-2.06%) while crude prices fell, pausing after the 16% jump last week (for US oil WTI) caused by the production cuts announced by OPEC+.
Information technology (-1.56%) and real estate (-1.19%) were also at the bottom of the pack.
Slightly in the green, the industrial sector (+0.33%) and consumer products (+0.29%) saved the day.
Boeing ended up 1.63% at $131.90, as investors hailed the landing of the first flight in China since 2019 of its 737 MAX with Mongolian carrier MIAT, an encouraging sign they say, as the plane has still not returned to the flight schedule of Chinese companies.
Leading the NASDAQ, shares of semiconductors fell after new measures taken by Washington against the purchase and manufacture of these components by China. These directives place restrictions on the export of chips used in artificial intelligence in particular.
Nvidia dropped 3.36%, AMD 1.08% while Micron technology and Intel lost more than 2%.
The mood clouded by the prospect of rate hikes and geopolitical risks with the war in Ukraine also weighed on the growth of technology stocks such as Microsoft (-2.13%).
Electric vehicle maker Rivian plunged 7.28% to $31.48 after a disappointing voluntary recall of nearly all of the 14,000 vehicles the new maker has produced over a steering problem. , however easy to repair according to the company.
Paypal tumbled 6.27% to $84.52, having received a volley of criticism from customers after the online payments service claimed it would impose a $2,500 penalty on its users posting false information . The group backed down over the weekend saying it had no intention of issuing fines to its users.