PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Thursday after the publication of several indicators showing a slowdown in the American economy, which reinforces market expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve l next year.

In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 274.08 points, or 0.74%, to 37,356.08 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.82% to 4,737.33 points.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.12%, or 165.79 points, to 14,943.74.

An hour before the opening of Wall Street, the US Department of Commerce indicated that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) had increased by 4.9% at an annualized rate compared to the previous three months, a figure revised downwards compared to the previous estimate which gave growth of 5.2%.

At the same time, business conditions in the Philadelphia region deteriorated in December, with the Philly Fed index at -10.5 after -5.9 in November, according to the monthly survey of the local branch of the Federal Reserve .

The US Department of Labor, for its part, reported an increase in unemployment claims last week, to 205,000, a sign of a decline in tensions in the job market.

“Macroeconomic data is mixed and suggests weaker economic activity,” said Peter Cardillo, chief economist at Spartan Capital Securities.

“Markets are rising because (bond) yields are falling, but yields are falling because the market expects very weak economic activity next year and the Fed to cut interest rates,” he added. he.

On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries fell around five basis points, to 3.8342%, while some traders were betting on a cut of at least 25 basis points in Fed rates as early as March. , while the probability of a first reduction in the cost of credit in the United States from May is estimated at practically 100%.

A drop on Friday in PCE price figures, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, could reinforce the “Christmas rally”, the S&P-500 index being close to the “bull market”.

On the stock market, the technology news index rose 1.17% and that of semiconductors 2.17% thanks to forecasts from Micron Technology (+7.32%), which anticipates a quarterly turnover above expectations. In its wake, Nvidia AMD, Qualcomm and Intel advance from 0.71% to 1.80%.

Boeing gains 2.40% as the aircraft manufacturer prepares to resume deliveries of 787 Dreamliners to China, according to a source close to the matter.

Tesla, up 2.31%, is buoyed by information according to which the United States will raise customs duties on Chinese electric vehicles. The American automobile manufacturers Nikola and Lucid increased by 3.03% and 4.22%.

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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