DayFR Euro

Wall Street remains firm, jobs news paves way for rate cut

(New York) The New York Stock Exchange was trading within tight margins on Tuesday after the publication of data depicting an American labor market which is slowing, but without stalling.


Posted at 11:50 a.m.

Around 11:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones contracted 0.31%, the NASDAQ index gained 0.25% and the broader S&P 500 index was near balance (-0.04 %).

On Monday, the S&P 500 and NASDAQ recorded new records.

The New York market was awaiting the JOLTS report from the US Department of Labor, which highlighted an increase in job offers in October, higher than economists’ projections.

It also showed a rebound in resignations, often seen as a signal of Americans’ confidence in the health of the job market.

But many scrutinized the publication beyond its two main figures, and noted in particular that new job offers (as distinct from those already published) had fallen to the lowest level in almost four years.

Hiring also fell compared to the previous month and is now significantly below the 2023 level.

“The job market is slowing, but it is not imploding,” said Carl Weinberg of High Frequency Economics.

For Jeffrey Roach of LPL Financial, this data should encourage the American central bank (Fed) to lower its key rate again at its meeting on December 17 and 18.

“The JOLTS report data provides favorable grounds for the Fed to further ease its monetary policy” this month, added Samuel Tombs of Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The prospect of a new crackdown by the Federal Reserve supported the indices, despite a lack of investor conviction.

“The market is showing signs of exhaustion, which normally precedes a decline, which would be beneficial before ending the month of December,” traditionally favorable to stocks, explained Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial.

On the stock market, the NASDAQ held up better than the Dow Jones, largely due to the strength of the semiconductor sector, already in evidence on Monday.

These values ​​“had been quite calm lately,” said Quincy Krosby. Seeing them progress again is important. »

Nvidia (+0.40%), Broadcom (+0.47%) and Micron (+2.60%) were thus clearly in the green, going against the trend.

Tesla fell (-1.25%) after a judge in Delaware (north-east) once again canceled the colossal compensation plan of the manufacturer’s boss, Elon Musk, which provided for an estimated envelope of 55.8 billion of dollars.

The company announced on Monday its intention to appeal the judgment, in which magistrate Kathaleen McCormick ruled that the approval of the plan by shareholders, at a general meeting in June, did not prevail over the rejection by the justice.

US Steel plunged (-7.96%) after US President-elect Donald Trump promised to thwart the takeover of the steelmaker by its Japanese competitor Nippon Steel, a project that has been in abeyance for a year.

This statement seems to definitively condemn this rapprochement which was also opposed by President Joe Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

US Steel has warned that if it fails, it could have to close sites in Pennsylvania, its stronghold.

BlackRock rose (+0.35%) after announcing the acquisition, for $12 billion, entirely in shares, of HPS Investment Partners, a company specializing in business credit.

The world’s leading asset manager has recently expanded into this market, considered a source of growth, as have many of its competitors, which now offer institutional players alternative sources of financing to banks and insurers.

The cable operator AT&T (+4.07%) benefited from the presentation of a strategic plan for 2027, which provides for an acceleration in its profits, but also from a share buyback program, over the same period, of up to $20 billion.

-

Related News :