The New York Stock Exchange plunged further into the red on Wednesday, following the publication of a better-than-expected ISM manufacturing index, and therefore not necessarily in line with future rate cuts.

At the close, the Dow Jones gave up nearly 0.8% to 37,430 points, as did the S&P500 to just under 4,705 points, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped nearly 1.2% to 14,592 points.

Investors were cooled by the announcement, at the start of the session, of a US ISM manufacturing index which rose to 47.4 in December, compared with 46.7 in November, reflecting a slowdown in the sector's contraction.

This slightly better-than-expected indicator, which did not reveal any major pressures in the manufacturing industry, did not seem, a priori, to lend credence to the scenario of a key rate cut by the Federal Reserve in two months' time.

On the value side, Intel lost 1.6% as the processor manufacturer decided to accelerate its development in artificial intelligence (AI) by creating a dedicated subsidiary with the support of investment fund DigitalBridge.

Walt Disney gained 1% following a confidentiality agreement with ValueAct Capital Management which allows the entertainment giant to provide information to this investment company and consult it on strategic issues.

Energy stocks such as Chevron (+1.9%) also performed well, against a backdrop of recovering oil prices due to tensions in the Bab El-Mandeb strait, a strategic gateway for global shipping.

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