PARIS (Reuters) – American stock markets open lower on Wall Street after restrictive comments from two monetary policy officials, and before crucial data for the trajectory of rates.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index lost 197.75 points, or 0.58% to 33,809.13 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.64% to 4,309.57 points. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.67% or 88.82 points, to 13,182.495 points.
The last Fed meeting on September 20 was marked by the restrictive tone of the central bank, which put pressure on risky assets.
However, two monetary policy officials reiterated on Monday the importance of the fight against inflation, rekindling investors’ fears.
Austan Goolsbee, president of the Chicago Fed, said inflation above the 2% target remained a bigger risk than a slowdown in activity.
Neel Kashkari, president of the Minneapolis Fed, said further rate hikes will likely be necessary given the surprising resilience of the U.S. economy.
As such, the markets will carefully follow the succession of indicators expected this week.
On Tuesday, new housing sales for August and consumer confidence will be released at 14:00 GMT, while data on new durable goods orders are due on Wednesday, final second-quarter GDP on Thursday, and the PCE index of inflation, the Fed’s favorite indicator of price dynamics, on Friday.
On the value side, Apple fell by 0.91%, as production of iPhones in the Indian factory of its supplier Pegatron continued. Separately, European industry chief Thierry Breton on Tuesday called on Apple CEO Tim Cook to open up its software ecosystem to rivals.
(Written by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)
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