by Echo Wang and Bansari Mayur Kamdar

(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Wednesday, the day after a report that Americans used their payment card credit capacities to an unprecedented extent in the last quarter, and the eve of the release of inflation data in the United States.

The Dow Jones index fell 0.54%, or 191.13 points, to 35,123.36 points.

The broader S&P-500 fell 31.67 points, or 0.70%, to 4,467.71 points.

The Nasdaq Composite fell for its part by 165.93 points (1.20%) to 13,718.40 points.

According to the New York Federal Reserve, the cumulative debt of American credit cards has exceeded 1,000 billion dollars, on the sidelines of the monetary tightening campaign operated by the American central bank.

While Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker on Tuesday said the time might be right for the Fed to keep rates at their current level, Governor Michelle Bowman said further hikes were likely, citing the persistent inflation and solid economic growth.

“With rising oil prices, consumers are the backbone of the economy. If they stop spending, it supports the scenario of a recession,” Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, commented to Boston.

Traders overwhelmingly anticipate that the US central bank will decide in September, at its next meeting, to pause its rate hike campaign.

Drivers of Wall Street’s rise this year, high-growth stocks and more interest-rate-sensitive technology stocks declined. Nvidia, Apple and Tesla thus recorded declines ranging from 0.8% to 4.8%.

The US consumer price report, due Thursday, is expected to show a slight year-on-year acceleration. On a month-to-month basis, consumer prices are expected to have risen 0.2% in July.

The main Wall Street indices had already ended in the red on Tuesday in the wake of Moody’s announcement of the downgrading of the credit ratings of ten small and medium-sized banks as well as a warning for several large banks.

Several major banks fell again on Wednesday, such as Bank of America, down 0.8%, and Wells Fargo, down 1.3%.

Only four of the S&P-500’s eleven major sectors ended the session higher, led by energy, which gained 1.22% to a nearly six-month high in the wake of the price jump petrol.

On the stock side, among notable moves, Penn Entertainment jumped 9.1% after announcing a $2 billion deal with Disney-owned ESPN to launch a betting business. The title Disney, which published its results after the close, was down slightly. Lyft fell 10%, despite an upbeat earnings forecast, after signaling plans to wage a more intense price war against Uber.

( Jean Terzian)

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