(New York) The New York Stock Exchange is moving lower on Friday at risk of ending with a weekly loss for the first time in five weeks for the S
The Dow Jones index fell 0.45%, the tech-heavy NASDAQ fell 1.11% and the S
On Thursday the Dow Jones was flat (-0.01%) at 34,078 points, while the NASDAQ index rose 0.95% to 15,110 points and the broader S index
The week was marked by statements to Congress from Jerome Powell, chairman of the US central bank (Fed), warning that more rate hikes are expected this year to curb inflation, which has somewhat cooled investors .
Concerns also came from Europe where several central banks have tightened the screws, in particular the Bank of England which surprised the markets by raising rates by half a percentage point to counter the most tenacious inflation of the G7 countries (8.7% year-on-year).
“There has been constant concern about a potential recession in the United States which has been just around the corner for 18 months. But there seems to be more to fear in Europe,” summed up Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
“Inflation remains too high, prompting central banks to tighten monetary policies further and potentially for longer. This, in turn, dims the continent’s economic outlook,” the analyst added.
In addition, several PMI activity indices published on Friday weakened markedly in June, whether in Great Britain, France, the euro zone and even Japan.
“These indices don’t actually move the markets, but they do cloud the interpretation of the outlook for the global economy,” noted Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com.
In the bond market, fears of recession drove down yields. Those on 10-year Treasury bills eased to 3.70% from 3.79% the day before. Rates on two-year bills were 4.71% versus 4.79%.
The euro weakened against the dollar as the price of oil fell, investors fearing for demand.
On the value side, 3m stock rose 1.65%. The industrial conglomerate has agreed to pay between $10.3 billion and $12.5 billion to end lawsuits in the United States over contamination of drinking water systems with eternal pollutants (PFAS).
Apple, whose title reached a new all-time high the day before, returned almost 1%.
Ford was down 1.16%, with press reports pointing to a new wave of layoffs and massive cost-cutting brewing at the automaker.
Used-car seller Carmax jumped 9.13% to more than $85, a nine-month high, after better-than-expected first-quarter results. Profit and revenue fell, but less than expected.
Electric vehicle manufacturers Tesla and Rivian lost 3.70% and 2.76% respectively.
Aircraft maker Boeing, a Dow Jones heavyweight, lost 0.77% as employees at one of its suppliers, Spirit Aerosystems, voted to go on strike Thursday.
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic plunged 19% to $4.30 as investors worried about the California-based company’s desire to raise more funds by issuing shares that will dilute the value of existing shares.
Starbucks was dropping over 2%. One of the coffee chain’s employee unions is planning a strike action next week in more than 150 stores.