NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–After the previous day’s significant gains, Wall Street consolidated in the middle of the week. However, the tendency to take profits was particularly pronounced in the interest-sensitive technology sector. The Dow Jones Index gained 0.1 percent to 39,043 points, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2 and 0.5 percent, respectively. There were 1,598 (Tuesday 1,562) price winners and 1,236 (1,286) losers on the Nyse. 81 (62) titles closed unchanged.
The convincing Oracle business figures had overshadowed the higher than expected US inflation data the day before. But expectations have now increased that interest rates in the USA could remain at their high level for longer than the market had previously assumed. That slowed down the stock market. Therefore, the importance of US producer prices increased on Thursday. The timing of the first interest rate cuts is moving further into the future, it was said in the trade.
But despite the market’s reservations, market observers tried to dispel the market’s doubts: “I don’t think the inflation data for the last two months reflects the opinion of the FOMC officials on the matter monetary policy have made a decisive difference,” said pension strategist Guy LeBas from Janney Montgomery Scott.
The doubts about the first interest rate cuts were once again evident on the bond market, where yields extended their strong gains from the previous day. The prospect of a postponement of the first Interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve after US inflation data had pushed yields higher the day before.
Dollar in the red – oil prices rise
After rising slightly the previous day in response to higher-than-expected US inflation data, the dollar was now in the red. The dollar index lost 0.1 percent. However, the data could justify a slightly firmer dollar from current levels, explained ING currency expert Francesco Pesole, who expects the US currency to rise soon.
Oil prices went up. Crude oil inventories in the USA had surprisingly decreased in the previous week. Analysts had predicted unchanged stocks. The oil market was also supported by Ukraine’s massive attacks on Russian oil facilities, some of which suffered severe hits and had to cease operations.
Tesla and US Steel under pressure
Tesla lost 4.5 percent after a very negative analyst comment from Wells Fargo. Analyst Colin Langan downgraded the stock to “sell” and significantly reduced the price target. Nvidia lost 1.1 percent. After the recent record hunt, the stocks are vulnerable to profit-taking, it was said.
Intel prices fell by 4.4 percent. The US government had withdrawn plans for billions in subsidies to the chip manufacturer. US Steel fell 12.8 percent. According to reports, US President Joe Biden has serious concerns about the planned takeover by Nippon Steel. 3M added another 5.4 percent to their recent markups. The announcement of the change in boss at the conglomerate had already been well received the day before.
Shares of Dollar Tree fell 14.2 percent after the retailer missed fourth-quarter profit expectations and gave a weak outlook. Enviva collapsed by 35.4 percent; the US provider of wood pellets had applied for protection from creditors.
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INDEX last +/- % absolute +/- % YTD
DJIA 39,043.32 +0.1% 37.83 +3.6%
S&P 500 5,165.31 -0.2% -9.96 +8.3%
Nasdaq Comp. 16,177.77 -0.5% -87.87 +7.8%
Nasdaq-100 18,068.47 -0.8% -150.65 +7.4%
US bonds
Maturity Yield Bp to VT Yield VT +/-Bp YTD
2 years 4.63 +5.0 4.58 20.7
5 years 4.19 +3.9 4.15 19.1
7 years 4.20 +4.1 4.16 23.1
10 years 4.19 +3.2 4.16 31.1
30 years 4.34 +2.6 4.32 37.4
FOREX last +/- % Wed, 7:40 am Tue, 17:06 % YTD
EUR/USD 1.0948 +0.2% 1.0926 1.0918 -0.9%
EUR/JPY 161.84 +0.4% 161.40 161.33 +4.0%
EUR/CHF 0.9621 +0.4% 0.9593 0.9589 +3.7%
EUR/GBP 0.8555 +0.2% 0.8542 0.8542 -1.4%
USD/JPY 147.83 +0.2% 147.69 147.77 +4.9%
GBP/USD 1.2797 +0.0% 1.2791 1.2780 +0.6%
USD/CNH (Offshore) 7.1926 +0.1% 7.1961 7.1884 +1.0%
Bitcoin
BTC/USD 73,267.99 +2.9% 72,755.63 71,664.45 +68.3%
CRUDE OIL most recently VT-Settlem. +/-% +/- USD% YTD
WTI/Nymex 79.75 77.56 +2.8% +2.19 +10.2%
Brent/ICE 84.09 81.92 +2.6% +2.17 +9.5%
GAS VT Settlem. +/- EUR
Dutch TTF 24.63 24.90 -1.1% -0.27 -22.2%
METALS last day previous +/- % +/- USD % YTD
Gold (spot) 2,173.13 2,158.78 +0.7% +14.36 +5.4%
Silver (spot) 24.96 24.14 +3.4% +0.81 +5.0%
Platinum (spot) 942.58 926.43 +1.7% +16.15 -5.0%
Copper future 4.05 3.93 +3.1% +0.12 +3.7%
YTD based on the previous day’s closing level
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 13, 2024 4:11 p.m. ET (8:11 p.m. GMT)