(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended in disarray on Friday, after initial corporate results, and at the end of an enthusiastic week driven by the decline in US inflation.
The Dow Jones Index gained 0.33% to 34,509.03 points, the tech-heavy NASDAQ fell 0.18% to 14,113.70 points and the broader S
Over the week, boosted by the good news on inflation which has slowed in the United States, the indices gained more than 2% for the Dow Jones and the S
“We are seeing some profit taking after the big rise” of the week “and that is perfectly normal, even healthy,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investment, interviewed by AFP.
“This is not a big step backwards and that in itself means the market remains bullish,” the analyst said.
A flurry of June U.S. inflation data released this week—from the consumer price index to producer and import prices—showed that price growth has markedly stalled, as if the US central bank was beginning to win its fight against inflation. This is 3% over one year, according to the CPI index.
Favorable developments in inflation “are not enough to prevent Federal Reserve (Fed) officials from raising rates later this month, but it confirms our forecast that this July hike could be the last,” analysts at Oxford Economics said Friday.
But nothing is less certain and “investors do not know what the Fed will do,” said Adam Sarhan.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said again on Thursday that he was recommending two further interest rate hikes.
“The market is therefore in a waiting mode, especially with the results of companies starting,” Mr. Sarhan explained.
The big US banks kicked off the quarterly earnings season on Friday with a cautious outlook for the coming months, despite strong second-quarter performances.
JPMorgan Chase (0.64%), the largest US bank by asset size, and Wells Fargo (-0.30%) unveiled a surge in their results compared to the same period of 2022.
JPMorgan posted a net profit up 67% year-on-year thanks to the takeover of First Republic (40% excluding this acquisition).
For Citigroup (-4.00%), the quarter was less lenient with a fall in its net profit (-36%).
Eli Lilly Laboratories was sought (3.46%) after announcing the acquisition of Versanis, an unlisted group specializing in drugs against obesity, for 1.925 billion dollars.
On the bond market, rates rose to 3.82% for ten-year Treasury bills against 3.76% the day before.
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower on Friday, dragged down by losses in its energy sector, while the major US indices ended the session in scattered order.
The composite index S
In the forex market, the Canadian dollar traded at an average rate of 75.86 cents US, down from 76.17 cents US on Thursday.
On the New York Commodities Exchange, crude oil prices fell US$1.47 to US$75.42 a barrel, while natural gas fell US$1 cent to US$2.54 a million. of BTUs.
The price of gold advanced 60 cents US to US$1964.40 per ounce and that of copper depreciated less than 1 cent US to US$3.93 per pound.
