Wall Street Signs Its Worst Week Since The Beginning Of The Year

Per Continuing high inflation is rocking the financial markets Friday, Wall Street closed sharply lower, with a fall of 1.

02% for the Dow Jones index, and 1 69% for the Nasdaq, according to preliminary results.

The US stock market thus signs its worst week since the beginning of the year The European financial markets had already ended the session in bright red, with in particular a fall of 1.

78% for the CAC 40 in Paris Investors were showered by the publication of an acceleration in inflation in January, according to the PCE index published on Friday.

Consumer Prices Jumped 0 6% From December And 5

4% year on year, up 0 1 point, according to the central bank's preferred index.

A trend reversal which is however only: the CPI, another inflation measure published earlier in the month already showed a rebound in monthly inflation, after several months of marked calm For investors, this means that the Federal Reserve, which has promised to curb inflation around 2%, will raise interest rates again to cool the economy, and probably more aggressively than they expected.

were anticipating At the last meeting of its monetary policy committee on February 1, the Fed set them at between 4.

5 And 4 75%

A new tightening of half a point is no longer excluded at the end of the next Fed meeting on March 22 Interest rates could also remain high for longer, as investors were already betting on lower rates in the year… Share prices in the tech sector, which are highly dependent on financing conditions, are traditionally the most affected.

The dollar, which had fallen in recent months against other major currencies, also rebounded on Friday to 1 0550 per euro, its highest level since early January.

The coming week will be another test of the resistance of American companies and their prospects, particularly in the field of consumption Major retail players such as Target, Kroger and Macy's must publish their results.

The job market is also in great shape In January, creations were higher than the monthly average of last year.

The labor force participation rate remains below its pre-pandemic level Some analysts note, however, that companies, on the occasion of their annual results, no longer complain of a shortage of employees.

Véronique Le Billon (New York Office).