Wall Street ends lower ahead of highly anticipated conference of central bankers

New York (AFP) – After the euphoria of Nvidia’s results, the New York Stock Exchange fell back into the red on Thursday, on the eve of an intervention by the head of the American central bank (Fed) at the Jackson Hole meeting , in the USA.

The Dow Jones index ended down 1.08% at 34,099.42 points, the Nasdaq, with strong technological coloring, which had started up sharply, lost 1.87% at 14,463.97 points. The S&P 500 fell 1.35% to 4,376.31 points.

“The market fell once the euphoria around Nvidia evaporated”, the star of the artificial intelligence sector which exploded the most optimistic forecasts when publishing its quarterly accounts on Wednesday evening after the close, underlined Peter Cardillo from Spartan Capital.

Nvidia shares, which have been gaining momentum since the start of the week, ended flat on Thursday (+0.10%) at 471.63 dollars after having come close to 500 dollars at the opening.

“I believe investors are positioning themselves for the speech by Jerome Powell, the Fed Chairman, on Friday” at the central bankers meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Cardillo said.

“In my opinion, there will be a little for everyone, for hawks like doves”, calculated the analyst using the language of specialists who evoke on the one hand the supporters of a strict monetary policy (with high rates to fight against inflation) and on the other, those in favor of more flexibility to preserve employment.

For LBBW’s Karl Haeling, so far the market has expected Mr Powell to argue for “higher rates for longer”.

“But since then, greater economic doubts” – especially after mixed results from retailers – “could suggest a more balanced monetary policy message that could encourage purchases” on the stock market, said the specialist.

On the bond market, yields on ten-year Treasury bills have risen a little, which in general is not favorable for equities.

Around 8:30 p.m. GMT, they stood at 4.23% against 4.19% the day before, those at two years rose to 5.02%.

The dollar strengthened against the euro (+0.52%) as against the main currencies.

As for the indicators, a new sign of the resilience of the job market in the United States, new weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell from 10,000 to 230,000, a figure lower than analysts’ expectations.

At the same time, a drop in transport orders, particularly air transport, weighed on durable goods orders, which fell 5.2% in July.

The aeronautical manufacturer Boeing has also announced that it has identified a defect on an element of the 737 MAX which will again disrupt deliveries of its flagship aircraft. The title fell almost 5% to 217 dollars.

Telephone operator T-Mobile slipped 2.21% as it announced the upcoming cut of nearly 5,000 jobs, or almost 7% of its workforce. The group will make a pre-tax charge of $450 million for this but the company has nonetheless confirmed its targets for its 2023 financial year.

Dollar Tree, the discount chain, fell nearly 13%, reflecting disappointing results as many retailers mentioned worries about skittish consumers and an upsurge in theft.

Struggling fashion chain Gap, which closed down 1.24% at $9.53, was losing as much in electronic trading after disappointing results. Quarterly sales fell 8% year on year.