(Finance) – Cautious start for the Wall Street stock exchange after the comments of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powellwho reiterated that we will likely have to wait beyond March for the US central bank to cut interest rates, underlining “the danger of acting too soon”.
The hypothesis of an initial easing of monetary policy, in the short term, is therefore receding, also in the wake of the US employment data for January. The labor market was significantly more robust than expected in the first month of 2024, implying that wage pressures may be more persistent over time than previously estimated.
Also weighing on sentiment is the Chinese manufacturing PMI, which fell slightly in January and was also lower than analysts’ expectations. In the background, the quarterly reports remain the protagonists.
On the first findings, the Dow Jones trades with a drop of 0.39%; along the same lines, with a slight decrease inS&P-500, which continues the day below par at 4,946 points. Without direction the Nasdaq 100 (-0.12%); with a similar direction, theS&P 100 (-0.05%).