(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended on a mixed note on Tuesday, not far from equilibrium, awaiting employment data later in the week while bond rates fell further.
The Dow Jones index lost 0.22% to 36,124.56 points, the NASDAQ gained 0.31% to 14,229.91 points and the S&P 500 stagnated (-0.06%) at 4,567.18 points. .
Ten-year bond rates continued to fall to 4.17% around 4:25 p.m. (Eastern time) compared to 4.25% the day before, the lowest since early September.
“Bond yields are responding appropriately to the economic data we’ve had,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management, referring to the Labor Department’s JOLTS survey of job vacancies in the United States.
These fell sharply in October, much more than analysts expected. They amount to 8.7 million compared to 9.4 million in September (revised figure), the lowest in more than two years, showing that the Fed’s monetary policy is cooling the job market.
“This sends the message that we are clearly going to see this labor market slow down a little, which is positive for monetary policy and for the Fed’s fight against inflation,” commented Mr. Hogan to AFP .
According to him, this survey on job vacancies in the United States “moved rates in the right direction”.
For Olivia Cross of Capital Economics, the Federal Reserve “can be reassured before its meeting next week that inflationary pressures from the labor market are dissipating.”
The Fed’s Monetary Committee meets on December 12 and 13 and investors are almost unanimous in thinking that rates will be left unchanged.
On the stock side, investors remained in a waiting position before knowing more about the official employment figures which will be published on Friday, said Art Hogan.
Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com said “the news that Moody’s downgraded China’s credit outlook from stable to negative also dampened some buyer interest.”
On the stock market, technology mega-caps have welcomed this decline in rates such as Apple (+2.11%), Amazon (+1.41%), Alphabet (+1.35%).
Shares of drugstore and pharmacy chain CVS gained 3.71% after the group revised its sales upwards for 2024 to $366 billion. The brand also increased its quarterly dividend by 10%.
The action of American video game developer and publisher Take-Two Interactive fell 0.51% after its Rockstar Games studios put online a first trailer for the next part of “Grand Theft Auto” ( GTA), which is scheduled for release in 2025.
The telecommunications group AT&T was praised (+3.36%) for having signed a contract worth some $14 billion with the Swedish Ericsson to deploy in the United States a technological solution used in particular for 5G.
AT&T wants to “become a leader in the United States in the deployment of an open radio access network (Open RAN) on a commercial scale,” the two companies announced in a joint press release.
American Express fell 1.48% after the credit card giant warned it saw a slowdown in consumer purchases in October.
Pfizer laboratories saw their stock weaken by 0.65%. Pfizer had to abandon clinical trials of a new obesity drug after numerous side effects.
The Wells Fargo bank (-1.40%) specified that its severance costs for its staff would increase to nearly a billion dollars in the fourth quarter.
Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange recorded a slight loss of 0.17% on Tuesday, weighed down by the energy and metals sectors, while the American markets finished in disarray.
The S&P/TSX composite index on the Toronto floor fell 34.28 points to end the session with 20,375.93 points.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 79.88 points, or 0.22 percent, to 36,124.56 points, while the broader S&P 500 index fell 2.60 points, or 0.00, 06%, at 4567.18 points. The NASDAQ Composite Index, for its part, appreciated by 44.42 points, or 0.31%, to 14,229.91 points.
On the currency market, the Canadian dollar traded at an average rate of 73.64 US cents, down from 73.85 US cents on Monday.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of crude oil fell 72 US cents to US$72.32 per barrel, while that of natural gas gained 2 US cents to $2.71 per million BTU .
The price of gold fell US$5.90 to US$2,036.30 per ounce and copper lost 5 US cents to US$3.78 per pound.
The Canadian Press