by Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended lower on Thursday, weighed down by the prospect of further rate hikes mentioned by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and by the fall of Tesla after the publication of its results quarterly.

The Dow Jones index fell 0.75%, or 250.91 points, to 33,414.17 points.

The broader S&P-500 lost 36.61 points, or 0.85%, to 4,277.99 points.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 128.13 points (-0.96%) to 13,186.18 points.

During a speech at the Economic Club of New York, Jerome Powell declared that the strength of the American economy and the persistence of tensions in the labor market, despite aggressive monetary tightening for more than a year, could justify further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

The statements are likely to reinforce fears of prolonged high rates in the United States, which have helped push the 10-year yield on U.S. Treasury bonds to a 16-year high of nearly 5%, a negative development for stocks.

Questions about the Fed’s monetary policy also have repercussions on the quarterly corporate results season, which is starting to get into full swing.

Tesla shares fell 9.3%. The electric vehicle manufacturer reported Wednesday evening a gross margin, profit and turnover below Wall Street forecasts and, above all, its CEO Elon Musk expressed his concern about of the impact of rising interest rates on demand for its cars.

Netflix shares, on the other hand, jumped 16.06%, the video-on-demand platform having announced on Wednesday evening that it had acquired nine million additional subscribers in the third quarter – a figure higher than expectations – and was planning an increase in its prices for United States, Great Britain and France.

Also on the positive surprise side, the telecoms operator AT&T gained 6.56% after raising its annual free cash flow forecast.

( Bertrand Boucey)

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