(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended Friday in scattered order not far from balance while waiting to better assess the trend in company results and their activity projections.
The Dow Jones index lost 0.31% to 37,592.98 points, the NASDAQ, with its strong technological coloring, gained 0.02% to 14,972.76 points and the S
Over the week, the expanded index S
Wall Street indices made a foray into the green at the start of the session after the publication of the producer price index (PPI) in the United States which fell slightly, contrary to expectations.
Wholesale prices thus fell slightly (-0.1%) last month, offering a pleasant surprise as a slight increase was expected, and bringing renewed optimism in the wake of less good inflation figures than expected. .
But the enthusiasm for stocks was short-lived. At the bond market level, on the other hand, two-year short yields eased significantly to 4.14% from 4.24% the day before around 4:10 p.m. Eastern Time.
“The market remains very optimistic about rate cuts, it could hardly be more,” remarked Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.
“Right now, the market is betting on an 85% chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut as early as March, despite the price index reading and the fact that the Fed Chair from Cleveland Loretta Mester said she didn’t see a decline as of March,” Steve Sosnick told AFP.
The CPI consumer price index published on Thursday was up (3.4% year-on-year versus 3.1% in November), which moderately cooled Wall Street.
On the geopolitical front, the Israel-Hamas conflict moved to Yemen where the United States and the United Kingdom carried out overnight strikes against the Houthi rebels who have been threatening international maritime traffic in the Red Sea for weeks. “solidarity” with the Palestinians in Gaza.
Immediately, analyst comments noted that the inflation numbers “do not yet take into account new supply chain issues caused by the Red Sea conflict,” as Will Compernolle of FHN Financial put it.
But immediately, to continue towards new records, while the Dow Jones briefly touched a peak at the start of the session, the market “needs more evidence on the side of company results”.
The fourth quarter announcement season got off to a flying start on Friday with several banks in particular.
Citigroup, which plunged into the red in the fourth quarter, announced plans to cut 20,000 positions in the medium term as part of a major restructuring affecting in particular the bank’s international activity. The stock gained 1.04%.
Bank of America fell by the same amount (-1.06%) after sharply declining results in the fourth quarter weighed down by exceptional charges and a reduction in deposits. Net profit was $3.1 billion (-56%) year-over-year.
JPMorgan Chase (-0.73%) also saw its net profit decline in the fourth quarter of 2023, due to a mandatory contribution to the deposit guarantee fund, a consequence of the spring banking crisis. Net profit was $9.3 billion, down 15% year-on-year.
Delta Airlines’ stock fell 8.97% despite stronger-than-expected quarterly results. Investors were disappointed by 2024 earnings per share projections.
Airline stocks generally weighed on the Dow as investors weighed demand patterns in the coming months and the impact of higher crude prices. United Airlines lost 10.63%, American Airlines lost 9.46%.
