2024-02-27 21:28:52
The New York Stock Exchange closed divided on Tuesday, at the end of a lackluster day in terms of indicators, awaiting news of American inflation later in the week.
The Dow Jones index lost 0.25% to 38,972.41 points. The predominantly technological Nasdaq advanced 0.37% to 16,035.30 points and the S&P 500 gained 0.17% to 5,078.18 points.
Investors digested a disappointing US consumer confidence index, showing an unexpected plunge in February.
Measured by the Conference Board, household morale deteriorated to 106.7 points (following 110.9 in January), instead of the 115.1 points expected by analysts. A bad surprise.
“February’s decline in consumer confidence interrupted a three-month rise, reflecting continued uncertainty regarding the U.S. economy,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board.
Another negative sign, orders for durable goods fell more than expected in the United States in January. Weighed down by the transport sector, they fell by 6.1% instead of a forecast decline of 5%.
“Businesses continue to face challenges linked to rising borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions. However, lower interest rates this year might support activity in the long term,” commented Rubeela Farooqi, chief economist for High Frequency Economics.
“We started the day badly” with economic data worse than expected, summarized Jack Ablin, expert from Cresset. “But if the session was lackluster for large caps, it was ultimately a good day for small valuations,” he stressed.
The Russell 2000 index, which brings together small and medium-sized companies, jumped 1.42%.
Among large capitalizations, Amazon lost 0.68%, Microsoft stagnated (-0.01%), as did artificial intelligence chip manufacturer Nvidia (-0.49%), which is still hovering nearby. 800 dollars per share, a historic high reached last week following the publication of its results.
On the bond market, yields tended slightly to 4.30% compared to 4.27% around 9:10 p.m. GMT.
On the market, the shares of Macy’s department stores gained 3.41%, despite the announcement of a falling turnover in 2023 (-5.5%) with a meltdown of 91% of its profit.
Investors seemed to favor the chain’s initiative, which will close 150 stores in the country by 2026, including around ten at the start of the year due to the “uncertain macroeconomic climate”.
Following the movement, the home equipment store brand Lowe’s advanced by 1.79%, even if its sales in the last quarter of 2023 fell by 6.2%.
Zoom shares were highly sought following (+8%, to $68.17), as the videoconferencing company posted better-than-expected earnings per share and quarterly revenue of $1.15 billion , a little above forecasts.
The group also announced a share buyback plan for $1.5 billion, which always has an immediate beneficial effect on the listing.
The Kroger supermarkets, to which the FTC – the American competition authority – refused Monday to endorse a plan to buy the Albertsons chain for 25 billion dollars, rose by 2.35% following having lost almost 2% Monday.
Albertsons fell 3.55%.
The video game software provider Unity Software, which had already announced in January its plan to cut 25% of its workforce, or 1,800 jobs, revealed disappointing forecasts for its first quarter on Tuesday. The title fell by 6.11%.
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