(New York) The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Friday, continuing the gradual consolidation seen this week, prompted by the US downgrade.
The Dow Jones fell 0.43%, the NASDAQ index returned 0.36% and the broad index S
The New York market had started the session in the green, rather well disposed after the publication of the monthly report on American employment, according to which 187,000 jobs were created in the United States in July.
This is less than the 200,000 positions expected by economists, “but it is reassuring that this job market, which was very tight, is calming down, very slowly”, commented Angelo Kourkafas, of Edward Jones .
The unemployment rate stood at 3.5%, lower than in June (3.6%).
The annoyance came from the average salary, which grew faster (0.4% over one month) than economists expected (0.3%).
A disappointment on the inflation front, but which is offset, according to Mr. Kourkafas, by the jump in productivity, announced the day before, for the second quarter, and which puts an end to a year and a half of stagnation.
“This report does not change the Fed’s (US central bank) anticipation of an imminent end to the tightening cycle, but provides new evidence that the economy is moving in the desired direction to slow inflation. “, Estimated Charlie Ripley, of Allianz Investment Management.
The bond market seemed to validate this analysis, and rates fell sharply, after rising since Tuesday.
The yield on 10-year US government bonds tumbled to 4.04% from 4.18% the previous day’s close.
However, despite the generally favorable reception to the employment report, the indices turned around during the session, to end in the red.
For Angelo Kourkafas, Wall Street continued, without frenzy, its movement of consolidation, triggered by the lowering of the note of the United States by the financial rating agency Fitch, Tuesday.
“There is not necessarily a reason to revise its view on US debt, but it is a good excuse for the market to catch their breath,” the analyst summed up.
New York is already expecting fresh inflation news next week, with the CPI consumer price index on Thursday and the producer price index (PPI) on Friday.
On the odds, Amazon was the indisputable star of the session (8.27%), after smashing expectations for its quarterly profit and doing better than expected on turnover.
Still supported by its remote computing business (cloud), Amazon Web Services (AWS), the group has announced forecasts significantly higher than analysts’ projections for the current quarter.
Last to publish its results, Thursday, among the five “tech” ogres, Apple denoted this season (-4.80%), with a turnover down (-1.4%) for the third quarter in a row, weighed down by the slowdown in iPhone sales (-2.4%).
In Friday’s session alone, the Apple brand lost more than $140 billion in market valuation.
The day was also marked by an explosion in the cybersecurity sector, triggered by the results of Fortinet (-25.07%), one of the heavyweights in this market.
The Sunnyvale (California) company has revised down its annual forecast, reporting a slowdown in demand for cybersecurity, with in particular a reduction in the average duration of contracts.
This communication bristled the market, which also attacked rivals Fortinet, particularly Palo Alto Networks (-8.06%), but also CrowdStrike (-4.48%).
Online payments specialist Block (ex-Square), led by former Twitter boss (now X), Jack Dorsey, plunged (-13.57%), analysts deeming the rise in forecasts on the year.
The Toronto Stock Exchange closed Friday’s session with a gain of more than 100 points, boosted by the utilities, energy and financials sectors.
The composite index S
In the currency market, the Canadian dollar was trading at 74.87 US cents, down from its average price of 74.90 US cents on Thursday.
