The main North American indices ended mostly falling, penalized by an increase in industrial production – which cast doubt on the “timing” of the Fed’s interest rate cut. Only the Nasdaq escaped.
The main indices on the other side of the Atlantic ended mostly losing value on the first day of trading after the Easter break.
The S&P 500, a reference for the region, fell 0.2% to 5,243.77 points and the industrial Dow Jones lost 0.6% to 39,566.85 points. The technological Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.11% to 16,396.83 points.
The first minutes of trading were still positive, with investors benefiting from the prospect that June will be the decisive month for an interest rate cut by the United States Federal Reserve (Fed).
This after the announcement of theUS household consumption expenditure (PCE) price index for February last Friday, which is seen as the central bank’s favorite for measuring inflation. The PCE registered an increase of 2.5% in the last 12 months, in line with market expectations, and slowed down by 0.3% compared to January.
However, the March figures for industrial production in the United States, released this Monday, which show an increase for the first time since September 2022 – driven by an increase in orders and production volumes – once again cast doubts regarding the “timing” of interest rate cuts by the Fed.
“The market is at overbought levels by any measure,” Quincy Krosby, strategist at LPL Financial, told CNBC. “The market needs a correction for more money to enter the money market and for the rally to be more constructive,” he added.
Investors’ focus turns this week to new employment data, with the release of the number of vacancies available, and a series of statements by Fed members, including John Williams, Loretta Mester and Mary Daly, at Tuesday.
