(New York) The New York Stock Exchange opened oscillating around equilibrium on Tuesday on the eve of the publication of US inflation, an indicator eagerly awaited by the markets.
The Dow Jones index gleaned 0.20%, the broader S&P 500 index stagnated at 0.01% while the NASDAQ, with strong technological coloring, yielded 0.36% around 2:20 p.m. (Eastern time).
Monday, the session had been quiet on Wall Street, the only Western stock market that remained open for Easter Monday. The Dow Jones index climbed 0.30% to 33,586.52 points, the NASDAQ fell 0.03% to 12,084.36 points and the S&P 500 advanced 0.10% to 4109.11 points.
“The market lacks conviction this morning. Tomorrow we will have the consumer price index for March, so investors are adopting a wait-and-see attitude before this report and also before the first bank results on Friday,” summarized Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com.
Also on the bond market, yields remained low at 3.41%, as on the previous day for rates on 10-year Treasury bills.
Analysts expect inflation in the United States, according to the CPI index, to fall to 5.1% year on year, a low in almost two years, against 6% year on year in February. Over the month, it should hold at +0.2% against +0.4% the month before.
On the other hand, according to Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management, underlying inflation, excluding volatile sectors such as food and energy, could remain tenacious. It is expected to increase over one year to 5.6% against 5.5% in February, showing that the price of services continues to rise.
Inflation will be watched closely by investors, as it should give clues to the attitude of the Federal Reserve which will hold its next monetary policy meeting on May 2-3.
The markets will also have at their disposal on Wednesday at 2 p.m. monetary policy when it decided to raise interest rates for the ninth time in a row.
On Tuesday, several Central Bank officials will also speak. John Williams, the president of the New York Fed, has already estimated that the banking crisis had so far “not brought any clear signs of a tightening of credit conditions”.
On the odds, vaccine maker Moderna fell 5% after acknowledging that its flu vaccine was not showing the expected success. The laboratory has also delayed the schedule for the delivery of its vaccine against viruses that reach the respiratory system (RSV).
Apple dropped 0.81% to $160.72 as its PC shipments fell in the first quarter. Information from the specialized site Axios also mentioned an antitrust investigation by regulators in France into the computer giant’s application tracking technologies.
Used car seller CarMax soared nearly 9% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. On a like-for-like basis, sales fell 22%, while analysts were forecasting a 27% drop.
Warren Buffett’s holding company, Berskhire Hathaway, was flat (+0.27% at $313.46 around 10 a.m. EST) as the investor said he was considering investing in five major Japanese trading houses . In Tokyo Mistubishi and Mitsui earned more than 2%.
The major banks set to release their results on Friday hovered around breakeven after a positive session the previous day. Citigroup advanced by 0.49%, Wells Fargo by 0.78% while JPMorgan Chase stagnated (-0.03%).