NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – After the previous day’s gains, prices on the US stock exchanges fell again on Thursday. However, they limited the losses noticeably in late trading. The Dow Jones Industrial ended the day down 0.34 percent to 33,174.07 points. The day before, the leading US index had gained two percent.
Wednesday’s hope of a rapprochement between Russia and Ukraine was initially dashed. The meeting of the foreign ministers of both countries in Antalya, Turkey did not bring any significant progress. The prospect of rising interest rates due to high inflation in the USA also kept share prices in check. Investors firmly believe that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week for the first time since the beginning of the corona pandemic.
The market-wide S&P 500 fell by 0.43 percent to 4259.52 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 1.10 percent to 13,591.00 points. Rising capital market interest rates, which can make the refinancing of high-growth tech companies more expensive, had a negative impact here. In the Dow, Apple, Cisco and Intel were among the biggest losers.
The recently sharp rise in energy prices and the resulting inflation are fueling concerns about a weaker economy. That puts the focus on the central banks. The European Central Bank (ECB) reacted to the high inflation this Thursday and is now putting the brakes on its bond purchases faster than planned.
On the markets, this is taken as a signal that, despite all the economic risks, the days of loose monetary policy are coming to an end. “In the coming week, the Fed will present its interest rate decision and also take into account the latest inflation developments,” wrote market observer Andreas Lipkow from Comdirect. Consumer prices in the US rose almost eight percent in February. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had promised an interest rate hike for March even after the attack on Ukraine.
On the commodity markets, prices rose again after the heavy losses of the previous day. As a result, oil and gas stocks such as Chevron, ExxonMobil and Conoco Phillips were among the biggest gainers, with premiums ranging from 2.7 to 3.7 percent.
Amazon was in view because of a planned stock split, and the online trading giant has also announced that it will buy back its own shares for up to ten billion dollars. Amazon shares gained more than 5.4 percent.
The euro exchange rate came under pressure against the US dollar. The prospect of a tighter monetary policy from the European Central Bank (ECB) only supported the euro for a short time. Most recently, the common currency cost $ 1.0977. The ECB had previously set the reference rate at $1.1084 (Wednesday: $1.0993). The dollar had thus cost 0.9022 (0.9097) euros.
US Treasuries extended recent losses. The 10-year Treasury futures contract (T-Note future) fell 0.27 percent to 126.25 points, the lowest in almost two weeks. In return, the yield on ten-year government bonds rose to 1.99 percent./bek/he
By Benjamin Krieger, dpa-AFX
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