PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened virtually unchanged on Wednesday in an indecisive session ahead of a U.S. holiday as investors digested a slew of macroeconomic data ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s final policy meeting minutes later.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 73.71 points, or 0.19%, to 39,405.56 points, and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.05% to 5,511.84 points.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.05% to 18,034.206.
With trading volumes reduced since the start of the week, no clear trend is emerging on Wednesday as US markets will be closed on Thursday for Independence Day.
Gains are pared after indices closed sharply in the green on Tuesday, led by Tesla and megacaps. The S&P 500 thus surpassed the symbolic 5,500 point mark after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said recent data showed “significant progress” in inflation.
The publication at 18:00 GMT of the “minutes” of the Fed’s meeting of June 11 and 12 should provide more elements on the content of the discussions within the Fed while the market is currently betting on a first cut in the federal funds rate in September.
The rise in jobless claims last week to 238,000 and the slowdown in job creation in June, as suggested by the monthly survey by the ADP firm, suggest that the impact of the Fed’s monetary tightening is being felt. But market participants are mainly looking ahead to the official monthly employment report to be released on Friday.
“We continue to believe that we should see a slowdown in employment data over the coming months. If employment slows and the disinflation trend remains intact, the Fed will deliver a rate cut in September,” wrote Mohit Kumar, chief economist at Jefferies.
In terms of values, Tesla, which gained 10.2% on Tuesday, is still up 2.12%, still driven by its vehicle deliveries in the second quarter that came out above expectations. Wedbush Securities and Canaccord Genuity have also raised their price targets on the stock.
Paramount Global jumped 10.44% as National Amusements reached a preliminary agreement to sell its majority stake in Paramount to David Ellison-owned Skydance Media, sources said.
Rivian (+0.08%) is in the green despite the group’s denial of press information that it was discussing an expansion of its partnership with Volkswagen.
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(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)
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