NEW YORK (awp international) – The surprise surge in US consumer prices in September put a hold on the Dow Jones Industrial on Wednesday. The leading index finally stepped on the spot after mixed trading. Technology company stocks, on the other hand, gained. According to stockbrokers, they could be more successful on average in passing price increases on to customers without harming business.
For the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100, it ended up 0.77 percent to 14,774.60 points. The Dow went unchanged in percentage terms at 34 377.81 points. After initial losses, the S&P 500 gained 0.30 percent to 4363.80 points.
The annual inflation rate rose from 5.3 percent in the previous month to 5.4 percent. Economists had expected an unchanged rate on average. In particular, inflation is driven by high energy prices.
The US Federal Reserve (Fed) is meanwhile heading for an early reduction in bond purchases to support the economy. The restriction on the purchase program could begin in mid-November or mid-December, according to the minutes of the latest Fed meeting. If the economic recovery continues, the bond purchases could expire around mid-2022, it said.
The focus was also on the start of the corporate reporting season, which the major bank JPMorgan Chase kicked off this Wednesday with the publication of its figures. The economic recovery from the Corona crisis brought the bank a surprisingly high surplus in the summer, with the merger advisory business also generating the highest quarterly profit to date. However, according to stockbrokers, the subdued credit growth overshadowed the figures. JPMorgan stocks, which had already performed well this year, fell 2.6 percent and were among the weakest stocks in the Dow.
JPMorgan had also reported a weak credit card business, which had been weighed down by rising marketing and advertising costs. These statements also pushed the stocks of credit card providers into the red because investors now fear tougher competition in this area. For example, American Express shares at the end of the Dow fell by 3.5 percent. Visa papers gave way by 0.7 percent.
We are now eagerly awaiting how the other banks have done. This Thursday, among others, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America will follow with their annual reports.
At the bottom of the S&P 500, the shares of Delta Air Lines lost 5.8 percent. The airline had warned that the rise in fuel costs was putting pressure on profits. In the wake of this, the shares of American Airlines fell by 3.4 percent and those of United Airlines by 3.6 percent.
The euro recovered somewhat from the previous day’s slide to a 15-month low and was most recently trading at $ 1.1594. The European Central Bank had previously set the reference rate at 1.1562 (Tuesday: 1.1555) dollars. The dollar cost 0.8649 (0.8654) euros.
On the US bond market, the futures contract for ten-year Treasuries (T-Note-Future) ultimately defied the inflation data and gained 0.12 percent to 131.30 points. Ten-year government bonds yielded 1.54 percent./la/he
— By Lutz Alexander, dpa-AFX —
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