The New York Stock Exchange was deepening its losses on Tuesday as the close approached, caught up in a movement of risk aversion and profit taking after a cannonball end to August. Around 19:05 GMT, the Nasdaq index plunged by 3.05%, the Dow Jones fell by 1.51% and the broader S&P 500 index by 2.01%. “Today is a red day to start September. A session where we avoid risk”commented Sam Burns, head of investment strategy at Mills Street Research.
The first victim of this tension was the microprocessor industry, which carried the Nasdaq. The sector champion, Nvidia, dropped 8.68%, accompanied by AMD (-7.16%) and Intel (-8.14%). “I think it’s mostly about profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing.”selon Sam Burns. “I do not see this session as a harbinger of a more significant correction.”
Wall Street was also worried about a deterioration in the economy, in light of mixed indicators in China in recent days as well as figures from the United States. Activity in the manufacturing sector in the United States thus remained in contraction in August, according to the organization of purchasing managers ISM. It progressed compared to July but less than expected. And according to this report from the ISM, new orders fell to their lowest level since May 2023.
The renewed tension that hit the New York market benefited bonds. The yield on 10-year US government bonds fell to 3.84%, compared to 3.90% on Friday at the close (Monday was a holiday in the United States). Bond rates move in the opposite direction to their prices.
