New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange ended in scattered order Tuesday after returning from an extended weekend, as Apple became the first major company to officially warn that the new coronavirus epidemic would affect its sales.

The Wall Street star index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 0.56% to 29,232.19 points and the S&P 500, which represents the 500 largest companies on Wall Street, dropped 0.29% , at 3,370.29 points.

Taking advantage of a rebound in the second part of the session, the Nasdaq, with a strong technological coloring, nibbled 0.02% to finish at 9,732.74 points, signing a new record.

"The big news of the day was of course (the earnings warning) from Apple and all that it implies" about the magnitude of the economic consequences of the crisis caused by the epidemic of the new coronavirus, notes Karl Haeling, from LBBW.

"All of this remains very vague" but investors "are wondering if the Chinese economy will not restart more slowly than previously expected by the equity market," added the expert.

Apple specifically warned on Monday that it will not reach its sales targets due to the coronavirus epidemic that has appeared in China, where the company has many production plants and generates a significant part of its turnover.

The apple brand spoke of both difficulties in supplying iPhones made in China and low demand for its products due to the temporary closure of its stores in the country.

The earnings warning issued by Apple "is not in itself a big surprise, but announcing it so early may suggest that the magnitude of the problem is more significant than imagined," said Haeling.

Illustrating the difficulties encountered by foreign companies, an investigation by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai also showed that two-thirds of the 109 American companies located in eastern China had admittedly resumed manufacturing production, but that 78 % of them did not have enough workers to run their production lines normally.

"The virus could also affect the income of other companies. We have to wait to see how it goes, paying particular attention to the chip manufacturing sector," said JJ Kinahan of TDAmeritrade. "Now is not the time to press the panic button," he said, however.

Investors in the bond market were inclined to be cautious. Sign of increased interest, the 10-year rate on the US debt fell and moved towards 9:20 PM GMT at 1.559%, against 1.585% Friday at the close.

© 2020 AFP