PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened on Wednesday in small variations, investors continuing to be generally cautious after the ADP survey showing an acceleration in employment in the United States and the comments of Jerome Powell on a possible tightening of the US central bank’s monetary tightening when it should be expressed again during the day.

In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 32.55 points, or 0.1%, to 32,889.01 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.13% to 3,991.68 points.

The Nasdaq Composite took 0.23%, or 26.72 points, to 11,557.05.

One hour before the opening of Wall Street, the monthly survey by the ADP firm showed that the private sector in the United States had created 242,000 jobs in February, a figure well above expectations and which reflects an acceleration compared to January.

The official report on US employment will be published on Friday by the Labor Department and the Reuters consensus predicts a slowdown in job creation to 203,000 after 517,000 in January.

Labor statistics are particularly watched as Jerome Powell, the chairman of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), himself acknowledged on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee that the job market remained tight, despite the will of the American bank to curb demand by raising interest rates massively.

Jerome Powell, who is due to speak again this Wednesday from 3:00 p.m. GMT before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, therefore warned that the Fed could be more aggressive than expected.

“We now expect three more rate hikes, and we also expect a half point hike for the March meeting alone,” said Susannah Streeter, investment and market analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

“It will put more pressure on businesses and consumers and concerns are growing,” she added, noting that the US economy could fall into recession and no longer make a soft landing.

Some pundits, like BlackRock’s Rick Rieder, believe Fed rates could peak at 6% and stay there for an extended period.

The yield on two-year US Treasuries continued to edge higher on Wednesday, at 5.084%, as the dollar moved to a three-month high against major currencies.

In values, Tesla fell 1.94%, as Berenberg lowered its recommendation on the automaker to “hold”.

On the upside, Occidental Petroleum advances 2.64% in reaction to Berkshire Hathaway’s decision to increase its stake in the oil company to 22.2%, while Wework takes 2.193%, the group discussing a restructuring of its debt and a cash raise, according to the New York Times.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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