(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended slightly lower on Wednesday, the last session of the month, pending a key vote to resolve the raising of the US debt ceiling.
The Dow Jones index fell 0.41% to 32,908.27 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ fell 0.63% to 12,935.29 points and the S&P 500 fell 0.61 % at 4179.83 points.
Over the month, the Dow Jones lost more than 3%, while the NASDAQ gained some 6% and the S&P 500 gained 0.5%.
“Stocks have lost momentum even as debt concerns wane,” noted Jose Torres, economist for Interactive Brokers.
“A rise in job openings in the United States and weak economic data from China undermined investor sentiment for this last session of the month,” he added.
Optimism about the likelihood of avoiding a U.S. default grew after a House of Representatives committee voted in favor Tuesday night on the compromise proposed by the White House and the chief of the Republican opposition.
The House of Representatives still has to vote Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. EST before the Senate this weekend.
On the economic data front, the Jolts job vacancies survey in April surprised with its dynamism with 10.1 million job vacancies compared to 9.8 million last month.
“This increase in job vacancies increases workers’ ability to negotiate upwards, which conflicts with the search for a price slowdown,” stressed Jose Torres.
The Beige Book, the last economic report published by the American central bank (Fed) before its monetary meeting in mid-June, has meanwhile reported stable activity, with weak growth over the past six weeks.
Finally, investors were also put off by the latest indicators from China. “The PMI report on manufacturing activity was depressing,” commented Edward Moya of Oanda.
The purchasing managers’ index, reflecting the health of the industrial sector, stood at 48.8 points against 49.2, while in services, activity fell to 54.5 points against 56, 4 the month before.
“The Chinese recovery is hitting a wall and the Chinese central bank will have to cut rates next month,” said Edward Moya.
As for the Fed, its future vice-president Philip Jefferson declared himself in favor of a pause in rate hikes in mid-June, in order to take the time to observe the evolution of the economy. But, he added, this should “not be interpreted” as the end of the cycle of hikes.
AI frenzy deflates
Listed car parts chain Advance Auto Parts slumped 35.04% after announcing a cut in its dividend due to a poor first quarter, which could continue for the rest of Europe. year, management said.
Nvidia, the processor manufacturer boosted by demand for artificial intelligence (AI), fell back from its heights (-5.68%) after briefly passing the 1 trillion capitalization mark on Wall Street on Tuesday.
Marvell Technology, a semiconductor company whose stock had benefited from the AI frenzy, fell 7.74%.
C3ai, a software company also focused on AI, whose share price has also increased almost fourfold since the start of the year, fell by 8.96%.
JP Morgan bank fell 1.27% as a former bank executive told the wall street journal that he had discussed with CEO Jamie Dimon whether to keep the accounts of Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier accused of sex trafficking, which Jamie Dimon denies.
On the bond market, yields fell to 3.61% against 3.68% for those at ten years and to 4.37% against 4.45% for those at two years.
Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed Wednesday’s session down nearly 170 points, the victim of a broad-based decline fueled by losses in the base metals and energy sectors, while major U.S. indices shed feathers them too.
The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 167.46 points to end the day at 19,572.24 points.
In the currency market, the Canadian dollar traded at an average rate of 73.51 cents US, down from 73.54 cents US on Tuesday.
On the New York Commodity Exchange, crude oil prices fell US$1.37 to US$68.09 a barrel, while natural gas prices fell US6 cents to US$2.27 a barrel. million BTUs.
The price of gold rose US$5.00 to US$1,982.00 per ounce and copper fell 3 cents US to US$3.64 per pound.
The Canadian Press