(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened lower on Friday amid uncertainty over the future of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy and the possibility of a partial shutdown of federal administrations (“shutdown”) in the United States, despite reassuring inflation figures.

In early trading, the Dow Jones index lost 46 points, or 0.11%, to 42,296.26 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 0.43% to 5,842 points.

The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.94%, or 182.7 points, to 19,190.042.

Figures from the PCE index, a gauge favored by the Federal Reserve, showed that inflation rose 2.4 percent year-on-year, below the estimates of analysts polled by Reuters, who had expected an increase of 2.5%.

After the publication of this data, investors relaunched bets on the number of key rate cuts by the American central bank in 2025 when it had announced that it would be more cautious in the face of stubborn inflation in the country.

Furthermore, Congress is trying to avoid a “shutdown” before midnight after the bipartisan funding bill was criticized by Donald Trump and rejected by parliamentarians.

“We doubt that a new deal will be reached in time to avoid a partial shutdown after December 20, but we expect a new draft budget towards the end of the year,” said Paul Christopher, head of strategy. global investment plan with the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, in a note.

On the value side, Eli Lilly gained 6.27% after the new obesity drug from its rival Novo Nordisk missed the Danish group’s estimates for weight loss during a clinical trial.

Fedex gained 4.7% after announcing on Thursday the highly anticipated spin-off of its freight truck business, its most lucrative division.

(Written by Pauline Foret, edited by Augustin Turpin)

Copyright © 2024 Thomson Reuters