(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended its session on a mixed note on Wednesday, with moderate variations, in a selective market, depending on company results, and cautious before several major publications and indicators.
The Dow Jones fell by 0.11%, the NASDAQ index gained 0.10% and the broader S&P 500 index finished close to balance (+0.02%).
The three indices oscillated between red and green during the session, with investors lacking strong conviction.
“The temptation is to sell when the market recovers, to test the determination of buyers,” commented Patrick O’Hare, analyst at Briefing.com.
Operators also showed “a little caution”, he judged, before the publications of technological giants Meta (Wednesday), Microsoft (Thursday) and Alphabet (also Thursday), and that of two macroeconomic indicators major.
Wall Street is therefore expecting, on Thursday, a first American growth figure for the first quarter, followed by the PCE consumer price index, the most followed by the American central bank (Fed).
A further rise in bond rates also tempered the enthusiasm of the New York market on Wednesday. The yield on 10-year US government bonds stood at 4.64%, compared to 4.60% the day before at closing.
“The market is trying to digest the results,” which rain down by the dozen daily, “and discern which companies remain strong and which ones are showing signs of weakness,” explained Bryant VanCronkhite, analyst at Allspring Global Investments.
“We are in a selective market, with volatility”, which contrasts with the New York market of recent months, very oriented by macroeconomic indicators and monetary policy expectations, he described.
While shopping on Wednesday, investors particularly set their sights on Tesla (+12.06%).
Ignoring the disappointing results for the first quarter, they were more interested in the prospect of a new model with a more accessible price, planned for 2025. “The impression is that (boss Elon) Musk has firmly taken back the reins” , wrote analysts at Wedbush Securities.
Another sought-after stock, the toy manufacturer Hasbro (+11.85%), which published significantly lower results but which announced a drastic reduction in its stocks and whose video game turnover increased.
Also at the party, Texas Instruments gained 5.64% after the Dallas group said it expected a rebound in demand for semiconductors in the second half, which would extend into 2025.
The good vibrations from Texas Instruments spread to some of its competitors, Broadcom (+0.61%), Qualcomm (+1.41%) or Intel (+0.64%).
Another praised publication, that of the Biogen laboratory (+4.56%), which said it was optimistic about the rise of new treatments, in particular Zuruvae against postpartum depression or Leqembi, which slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The cable operator AT&T (+1.88%) exceeded expectations in terms of net profit, new telephone subscribers and cash flow, which put it in the green.
Despite financial results that were less bad than expected by analysts, Boeing took another nosedive (-2.87%). The aircraft manufacturer saw its liquidity decrease by four billion dollars in the first quarter.
The aeronautics and defense group General Dynamics fell (-3.97%) after publishing a net profit lower than projections. The manufacturer of Abrams tanks nevertheless achieved a turnover higher than estimates, thanks in particular to the strong growth of its defense systems division (+20% over one year).
The Hilton hotel group shone (+3.89%), despite a lower net profit than expected. The McLean (Virginia) group has seen its occupancy rate increase, as well as its average rate, and plans to add several tens of thousands of rooms to its portfolio.