(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended slightly lower on Monday, unable to maintain its initial momentum in a quiet session, ahead of a highly anticipated retail sales indicator on Tuesday.
The Dow Jones concluded a very slight decline of 0.04% to 36,087.45 points, the NASDAQ index, with a strong technological flavor, also of 0.04%, to 15,853.84 points, while the index Expanded S&P 500 closed at breakeven at 4682.80 points.
Wall Street had started up, taking the path of a third consecutive positive day, well oriented by a better than expected indicator.
The “Empire State” index measuring manufacturing activity in the New York region thus came out at 30.9 points, against 20.3 expected.
The S & P / TSX Composite Index lost 85.45 points to 21,683.08 points after closing at a record high last week.
But the clues stalled late in the morning and went into the red.
“When we see that utilities are the most prominent sector today, it shows that investors did not want to take any risk,” said Jack Ablin, investment manager at of the management company Cresset Capital.
Conversely, the bond market showed some signs of nervousness. The average 10-year US government bond yield jumped 10 basis points (0.1 percentage point), before easing slightly. It stood at 1.62%, against 1.56%.
Investors were already eyeing Tuesday’s flagship indicator, US retail sales for October, which will provide new information on the state of US consumer health.
A figure below the consensus (+ 1.5% over one month) could testify to an unwelcome slack before the holidays.
But, warns Jack Ablin, “a high indicator could bring inflation back” in the minds of investors and authorities and “encourage the (US Central Bank) to act sooner than expected”, which would be unfavorable to the equity markets.
In the meantime, a few stocks stood out on Monday, such as Boeing (+ 5.49%), which benefited from several cargo plane orders announced at the Dubai air show.
The American aircraft manufacturer is benefiting from the acceleration of air freight, which exceeded its 2019 levels, before the start of the pandemic, unlike passenger traffic, which is still recovering.
Beautiful day also for WeWork (+ 3.38%), which reported a reduction in its losses in the third quarter and a slight increase in the occupancy rate of its premises.
New euphoric session for the darling of investors, Rivian, who continues to climb (+ 14.94%), after its IPO on Wednesday. The electric vehicle maker, which has just delivered its first cars, is now worth more than $ 130 billion on the stock market.
Its competitor Tesla, who has enjoyed the same fervor for a long time, has again slipped (-1.94%), after being very heckled last week. On Sunday, Managing Director Elon Musk again raised, during an exchange with Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, the possibility of selling more of his shares. He had already shed about $ 6.9 billion in Tesla securities last week.
The oat milk specialist Oatly slipped (-20.81%), depressed by the publication of a quarterly turnover well below expectations and a warning on results, linked to supply difficulties.
US iron ore pellet producer Cleveland-Cliffs fell (-2.60%), after the US government announced that it is ready to discuss with Japan a reduction in tariffs on steel and aluminum imposed under the Trump presidency.
Same impact on the steel group US Steel (-2.54%), also shunned by investors.
Low-cost supermarket chain Dollar Tree surged (+ 14.28%), after the Wall Street Journal announced on Friday that activist fund Mantle Ridge had taken a stake of more than 5% in the capital and would demand a change of strategy.
with The Canadian Press