(News Bulletin 247) – Wall Street had a difficult start to the session on Tuesday, as questions about the health of the economy, especially in Europe, returned to the heart of investors’ concerns.

At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones fell 0.1% to 34,789.2 points, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1% to 14,050.2 points.

After its strong gains last week, the New York Stock Exchange – which was closed yesterday for Labor Day – paused due to fears for global growth after disappointing indicators in the euro zone.

The markets of the Old Continent were all preparing to end in the red on Tuesday following the publication of statistics showing a deterioration in the European economy, particularly in Germany.

If the economy of the euro zone managed to avoid recession in the first half, the second part of the year promises to be much more complicated.

The signs of a slowdown in activity in Europe are penalizing the majority of the major sectors of the rating, with more significant declines for industry (-1%) and basic materials (-1.3%).

The rise in oil prices to their highest for almost a year (+2% to 87.3 dollars for the WTI) is supporting the energy sector (+1.1%) while Saudi Arabia has announced the extension of the reduction of its quotas until the end of 2023.

In terms of indicators, US factory orders contracted by 2.1% in July, according to figures published by the Commerce Department, after rising 2.3% in June.

The sluggish economic situation in Europe favors the rise of the dollar, which plays the role of safe haven and is up for a seventh week in a row against the euro, around 1.0720.

On the bond front, the deterioration that began 10 days ago continues, with a yield on 10-year US government bonds accompanying the rise in the dollar to now reach 4.26%.

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