PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened in the green on Tuesday, without much conviction, after the publication of a mixed inflation indicator in the United States.

Investors are especially waiting for a speech from the President of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, to position themselves on the evolution of interest rates.

In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 23.81 points, or 0.06%, to 39,455.32 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.03% to 5,223.01 points.

The Nasdaq Composite takes 0.13%, or 21.16 points, to 16,409.398.

An hour before the opening of Wall Street, the Labor Department indicated that producer prices (PPI) in the United States had increased year-on-year in April by 2.2%, a figure in line with the Reuters consensus, after an increase of 1.8% the previous month. But on a monthly basis, the PPI showed a stronger acceleration than expected, by 0.5% after a contraction of 0.1% in March.

“When we look at wholesale prices rising again in April, up two basis points from expectations, we find ourselves in a scenario where the Fed is simply not prepared to cut interest rates. interest”, comments Phil Blancato, director of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.

Investors are now awaiting Wednesday’s publication of consumer prices (CPI) for the month of April. But before that, a speech by Jerome Powell is scheduled for this Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. GMT and it could give rise to comments on the evolution of inflation and key rates.

The persistence of inflation and the strength of the labor market have prompted financial markets and most economists to reject the prospect of an initial rate cut by the Fed.

Traders are now counting with a 48% probability on an initial reduction of 25 basis points in borrowing costs in the United States in September, according to LSEG data, compared to an estimate last March at the start of the year.

On the bond market, the yield on ten-year Treasuries fell by around 1.5 basis points, to 4.4649%.

In terms of values, Home Depot lost 1.0% after reporting on Tuesday a larger than expected drop in its quarterly same-store sales.

Alibaba drops 6.15% after its quarterly results, with the Chinese online commerce giant’s profit falling 86%.

Chinese manufacturers of electric vehicles, like Li Auto (-2.44%), are affected by the new measures decided by American President Joe Biden relating to an increase in customs duties on numerous Chinese imports.

Gamestop (+98.29%) and other “meme stocks” continue their stock market rally in the wake of the reappearance on social networks of “Roaring Kitty”, an iconic character.

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(Writing by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

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