by Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended mixed on Wednesday, with only the Dow Jones in the green, while investors favored profit-taking in the semiconductor sector, against a backdrop of caution on the eve of the publication of additional data on inflation in the United States.
The Dow Jones index gained 0.1%, or 37.83 points, to 39,043.32 points.
The broader S&P-500 lost 9.96 points, or 0.19%, to 5,165.31 points.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 87.87 points (0.54%) to 16,177.77 points.
Ahead of the Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting next week, the report on producer prices in February in the United States, expected on Thursday, could provide new information on inflation and potentially guide the American central bank .
“The latest data has helped to highlight the trend of persistent inflation, so that’s going to be important,” said Quincy Krosby, chief strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina, as data released Tuesday showed an acceleration in consumer prices.
The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged again at its monetary policy meeting next week.
Traders are mainly betting on a first rate cut in June, with the probability falling slightly according to data from CME FedWatch (65% compared to 71% on Monday), without the latest inflation data having dampened their hopes.
In addition, investors will also scrutinize the report on monthly retail sales in the United States on Thursday.
After the significant gains recorded recently, the semiconductor index fell 2.5% on Wednesday. It is up 17% since the start of the year.
Nvidia declined 1.1%, while Intel lost 4.4% after Bloomberg reported that the US Defense Department decided to withdraw from a proposed grant of up to $2.5 billion .
Dollar Tree plunged 14.2% following the announcement of the closure of around a thousand stores and the publication of a net loss in the previous quarter.
McDonald’s fell 3.9% after its chief financial officer warned that international sales may have declined significantly in the current quarter.
(Written by Jean Terzian)
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