Around 4:15 p.m., the Dow Jones is close to balance at 0.04%, the Nasdaq is up 1.07% and the broader S&P 500 index is up 0.49%.
The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Thursday, with investors digesting the previous day’s record gains following Donald Trump’s victory, their attention now focused on the US central bank’s rate decision.
Around 3:15 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones was close to balance at 0.04%, the Nasdaq index gained 1.07% and the broader S&P 500 index 0.49%.
Donald Trump’s clear victory in the American presidential election gave rise to “a record post-election enthusiasm on the market” on Wednesday, Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial commented to AFP.
The American market closed with fanfare the day before, delighted with the victory of the Republican candidate, who propelled its three star indices to new records.
But Wall Street is now “very focused on the discussions of the American central bank (Fed)” which should announce a further cut in its rates on Thursday, underlined Ms. Krosby.
The Fed cut its key interest rates by half a percentage point in September, and rates are currently in the 4.75 to 5.00 percent range.
A drop of a quarter of a percentage point is mostly anticipated by the markets, according to CME Groupe’s assessment.
The Fed’s decision will be published on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. (7:00 p.m. GMT) and its president Jerome Powell will hold a press conference 30 minutes later.
“The question now arises as to whether or not the Fed can continue to cut future rates as the market had predicted due to Trump’s decisive victory,” Krosby said.
Trump’s agenda “is pro-growth, includes higher tariffs and a wide range of tax cuts” which could “lead to a higher deficit and potentially higher inflation,” he said. -she added.
Investors will keep an eye on the bond market: after the opening, the yield on 10-year US government bonds stood at 4.36%, compared to 4.43% the day before at closing.
On the stock market, technology stocks – major beneficiaries of Donald Trump’s victory – continued to shine. Nvidia (+1.32%), Apple (+1.18%), Broadcom (+2.23%) and Salesforce (+1.00%) opened in the green.
On the other hand, the banks lost ground after their takeoff the day before, like JPMorgan Chase (-2.94%), Goldman Sachs (-0.82%), Bank of America (-1.11%) and Wells Fargo (-2.37%).
“Some companies that have published their results since yesterday’s close have generated positive reactions” on the market, analyzed Patrick O’Hare, of Briefing.com, in a note.
The title of the digital VTC (passenger vehicle with driver) platform Lyft took off (+29.45%) thanks to the publication on Wednesday after the close of a turnover better than expected.
The electronic components giant Qualcomm progressed (+2.45%) after publishing results above expectations.
The beauty brand elf was also doing well (+14.06%), the group – popular with younger generations – saw its sales increase from one year to the next.
The American oil services group Halliburton fell (-4.43%) after publishing declining results in the third quarter, weighed down by a marked decline in activity in its main market, North America, according to a press release published Thursday.
The European car manufacturer Stellantis was in positive territory (+2.27%). The group announced on Wednesday the layoff, at the beginning of 2025, of 1,100 employees from its Jeep factory in Toledo, Ohio (north-east) to “regain” competitiveness, according to a press release sent on Thursday.
