Global stock markets were torn on Wednesday between the decline of big tech names and hopes of appeasement in the Middle East, which caused oil prices to fall.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones gained 0.36%, the Nasdaq advanced 0.07% and the S&P 500 gained 0.02%. The three main indices of the American market closed at a new record.
In Europe, the Paris Stock Exchange gained 0.43% and London 0.13%. Frankfurt finished stable (-0.03%) and Milan lost 0.64%.
In recent weeks, “the market has come a long way, in the absence of data or major events, so we are seeing a slight pause”, summarizes Angelo Kourkafas, from Edward Jones, for AFP.
For Grégoire Kounowski, investment advisor at Norman K, today’s session is a classic example of “consolidation” and “rotation” of values: “we sell what has worked very well and we buy what has worked less”.
“These are classic profit-taking on names which have had aberrant surges in recent days”, particularly in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, he explains to AFP.
– Le thème IA reste central –
The manufacturer of memory chips Micron managed to gain 3.63% in New York, consolidating its entry the day before into the closed circle of companies with a market capitalization greater than 1,000 billion dollars.
But he was an exception.
Qualcomm lost 6.20%, Texas Instrument 2.29% and the world’s largest capitalization Nvidia lost 1.05%.
Même constat en Europe: Soitec a chuté de 7,50% et STMicroelectronics a cédé 3,16% à Paris. A Francfort, Infineon a lâché 0,92% et à Amsterdam, ASML a reculé de 0,96%.
“We are in a market of +momentum+: the market only buys the same sector and the same values”, namely artificial intelligence, explains Mr. Kounowski.
“There are phases of consolidation where we can have the impression that it is falling sharply (…) but it is not a reversal of the underlying trend” with a strong attraction of investors for artificial intelligence, he underlines.
“The demand for the development of AI remains very strong” and has driven electronic component manufacturers into flight, recalls Angelo Kourkafas.
Over one year, Micron’s share price has multiplied by more than 9, that of SanDisk by 40.
– Oil continues to decline –
At the same time, “investors continue to hope for a positive outcome to the negotiations between the United States and Iran”, observes Andreas Lipkow of CMC Markets.
“The general opinion is that a solution will be found to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” summarizes Robert Yawger of Mizuho USA for AFP.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea, the world oil benchmark, lost 5.31% to $94.29. Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate, fell 5.55% to 88.68 dollars.
Iran deemed the resumption of hostilities with the United States unlikely on Wednesday, at a time when the two countries are negotiating an agreement to end the war, with Donald Trump declaring, however, that he was not satisfied with Tehran’s proposals as they stand.
– New inflation index –
Investors are awaiting Thursday’s publication of household income and spending in the United States and PCE inflation in April.
“A lower-than-expected figure would likely support stocks and help ease bond yields, reinforcing the idea that inflation remains manageable despite high oil prices,” said Daniela Hathorn, analyst at Capital.com.
Conversely, disappointing data could “rekindle fears of more entrenched inflation, potentially pushing yields higher and putting pressure on growth-oriented sectors, particularly technology,” she continues.
The market has already examined the CPI and PPI indices for the same month and therefore has a good idea of the level of the price increase in the country tempers Angelo Kourkafas, who does not expect “a significant reaction”.
On the American bond market, the ten-year yield on American government bonds stabilized at 4.48%, as at the close the day before.
Nasdaq
