(News Bulletin 247) – The New York Stock Exchange is moving without much direction on Monday in a market context dominated by soaring oil prices following the surprise decision by OPEC+ to cut production.

At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones advanced by more than 0.6% to 33,490.3 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8% to 12,121 points.

It looks like investors are willing to take a little breather after last week’s strong performance, which resulted in gains of more than 3%.

Investors may also be thinking of doing ‘the minimum’ ahead of the shortened Easter week, which will see US equity markets close for Good Friday.

At the top of the ranking, and by far, the energy compartment gained 4.5% in the wake of the surge in the barrel of American light crude oil (WTI) which gained more than 6% to exceed 80 dollars.

Prices are supported by the unexpected decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production by 1.1 million barrels per day, a decision which could be motivated by the prospect of lower demand and a slowdown in the economy. ‘economy.

‘Indeed, beyond the slowdown observed in Europe and the United States, China’s recovery is taking longer than expected and the data published this morning on manufacturing activity seem to confirm this outlook’, explain the teams. ‘ig.

At the head of the Dow Jones, Chevron advances by 3.7% while technology stocks such as Salesforce (-1.6%) or Microsoft (-0.8%) suffer from profit taking after a successful first quarter for the Nasdaq .

The heavily weighted tech index jumped 10.5% where the S&P 500 – the benchmark for US markets – rose 7.5%.

The day’s economic statistics confirmed the scenario of a slowdown in economic activity under the effect of monetary tightening orchestrated by the Fed.

The ISM manufacturing index fell to 46.3 last month, from 47.7 in February, indicating a fourth consecutive month of contraction in activity after a period of expansion that had lasted for two years and half.

The S&P Global PMI index came out at 49.2, after 47.3 the previous month, but still remains in contraction territory, that is to say below the 50 point mark.

These indicators fuel expectations of a 25 basis point rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in May, followed by a status quo in June.

These figures favor the fall in the yields of Treasuries: that of ten-year securities yields nearly seven basis points to 3.42%.

The dollar is evolving without much change after its drop last week, traders seeming to hesitate to take positions that are too clear-cut before the employment figures which will be published next Friday.

The euro is trading around $1.0880, up 0.4%.

On the values ​​front, Tesla dropped 4% after first quarter delivery figures were lower than those of its production, leading investors to question the demand from which the group benefits.

Intel shares are better oriented (+2%), supported by a note from Bernstein who believes that the processor manufacturer’s outlook is finally starting to improve.

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