A wait-and-see attitude on the Wall in view of inflation

With marginal fluctuations and mixed signs, the Wall Street indices ended the session on Wednesday, characterized by intense volatility, as investors’ concerns about the US economy and the rise in bond yields cut the “appetite” of investors for positions that have “open” in recent days in the wake of positive quarterly results that have been announced by large American companies from all sectors.

More specifically, the indices started the trades upwards, with the exception of the Dow Jones which followed with a relative delay, receiving an impetus from the “rally” of the Tesla title and the “help” of several other large companies. Very quickly, however, the bullish reaction ran out of “fuel”, as a result of which the indices indulged in a barrage of sign changes, reflecting the general cautiousness of investors

Cautiousness related to the course of the US economy and developments on the interest rate front. Data released early today on new orders for core capital spending showed they rose modestly in May, suggesting business spending on equipment was subdued in the first quarter of the year, confirming investor fears that the US economy is slowing.

And this at a time when the Federal Reserve has announced that it will take more time before proceeding to reduce borrowing costs, a move that would boost the economy. Against that background, investors have turned their attention to data on personal consumption expenditures, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation, due on Friday, hoping to get a clearer picture of when to expect for the US Federal Reserve to finally start lowering its interest rates.

Share values ​​were also pressured by the rise in US Treasury yields on Wednesday, with the 10-year US bond rising to 4.6541%.

Indicators – Statistics

Amidst this climate, indices ended the day with marginal fluctuations. More specifically, on the board, the Dow Jones industrial average ended trading 42.77 points, or 0.11% lower, at 38,460.92 points, while the broader S&P 500 closed marginally higher, by 0.03%, at 5,072. 13 units.

With mild gains of 0.10% and at 15,712.75 points, the tech-heavy Nasdaq finished the day, despite its initially more dynamic start, led by the title of Tesla, which stood out today among the large capitalization stocks.

The electric vehicle company’s stock jumped 12% after it pledged to speed up the rollout of less expensive models in a bid to reverse a downward trend in demand for its cars after posting another disappointing quarter in terms of results.

The company will begin production of new models as soon as this year, well ahead of its planned production start in late 2025, with the company’s CEO Elon Musk betting that lower-priced models will boost demand for electric vehicles , which has slowed worldwide and forced other automakers to rethink their electrification plans.

Of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones index, 18 ended the day up and 12 down. The biggest gains were made by Coca-Cola (1.50%), Walmart (1.32%) and Apple (1.27%), while the losses were led by Boeing (-2.87%), Home Depot (-1.77%) and Amazon (-1.64%).

The title of Texas Instruments also closed with significant gains of 5.6%, after the announcement of better-than-expected quarterly results, while Biogen’s stock ended 4.5% higher, whose quarterly profitability exceeded analysts’ estimates.

Hasbro also jumped nearly 12% as its quarterly sales decline was less than analysts had predicted and its profitability beat expectations.