PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened with little change on Tuesday, as investors were reluctant to take any risks ahead of the publication of U.S. inflation figures on Wednesday and the debate later in the night between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

In early trading, the Dow Jones index lost 0.15% to 40,772.61 points. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 gained 0.38% to 5,494.84 points.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.79% to 17,016.78 points.

Monthly U.S. consumer price index (CPI) data, due out on Wednesday, could influence expectations for the path of interest rates ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting on September 17-18. The Reuters consensus is for CPI to stabilise at 0.2% month-on-month in August and slow to 2.6% year-on-year, but nothing can be ruled out, especially when it comes to so-called core inflation.

“While most economists appear confident that the 25 basis point rate cut on September 18 will be confirmed, a significant surprise in tomorrow’s CPI report could affect the narrative surrounding the Fed rate cut,” writes Achilleas Georgolopoulos, investment analyst at forex broker XM.

Uncertainty in the race for the White House is also weighing on risky assets, with Philadelphia at 9 p.m. (US Eastern time, 1 a.m. GMT in Paris on Wednesday) in the spotlight with the televised debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

In the meantime, investors remain on the lookout for bargain buys in some stocks, particularly in new technologies, after a week of heavy losses on stock indices, triggered by concerns about the health of the American economy, which translated into little variation.

In terms of values, Apple fell by almost 1% after its Chinese competitor Huawei Technologies presented a phone that could be folded in three hours following the launch of the new iPhone 16. In addition, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed on Tuesday that Apple will have to reimburse the tax advantages granted by Ireland to the group.

The CJEU also confirmed the fine of 2.4 billion imposed on Alphabet subsidiary Google for abuse of a dominant position. The group nevertheless gained 1.4%.

Oracle jumped 10% after beating expectations with its quarterly results, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise (-8.3%) was in the red as the IT group’s $1.35 billion convertible stock plan to fund its acquisition of Juniper Networks was poorly received.

* For values ​​to follow, click on

(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Kate Entringer)

Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters