(News Bulletin 247) – The New York Stock Exchange hesitated on Tuesday at the start of the session, the solid results of several American banks having reassured investors while disappointing economic indicators weigh on the trend.

At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones advanced 0.8% to 34,856.9 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2% to 14,212.8 points.

The prospect of a slowdown in consumption, which represents more than two-thirds of economic activity in the United States, cast a shadow over the markets this morning.

Retail sales only rose 0.2% in June, half of what was expected, according to statistics released before the opening by the Commerce Department.

If these data testify to a certain resistance of the American economy, they also feed some doubts on the scenario currently favored by investors, namely that of ‘goldilocks’ characterized by both favorable growth and moderate inflation.

Another disappointing indicator, industrial production fell by 0.5% in June for the second consecutive month, according to figures released by the Federal Reserve.

As for corporate inventories, they rose only moderately in May (+0.2%), which suggests that restocking will only contribute slightly to growth in the third quarter.

Side business results, Bank of America climbed 4% after earning a net profit of $ 7.4 billion in the second quarter, despite provisions for credit losses more than doubled to 1.1 billion.

Morgan Stanley jumped 6% after announcing a profit down 12% for the second quarter, but above consensus, resulting in particular from significant severance payments linked to layoffs.

Following these well-received publications, the S&P sector index for finance posted a gain of 1.1%, the second strongest increase behind that of energy (+1.6%), which benefited from the rise in crude oil prices. .

On the NYMEX, a barrel of Texas WTI oil rebounded 1.5% to 75.3 dollars, with signs of a slowdown in Russian hydrocarbon deliveries more than offsetting disappointing US industrial production figures.
Copyright (c) 2023 News Bulletin 247. All rights reserved.