According to final results at the close, the Dow Jones index dropped 1.29% to 34,358.50 points after five sessions out of six.

The technology-dominated Nasdaq index fell 1.32% to 13,922.60 points and the S&P 500 fell 1.23% to 4,456.24 points.

10-year bond yields eased after a sharp rise early in the week on inflation fears and the Fed's monetary reaction.

They stood at 2.29% against 2.38% the day before.

"This decline is more a technical correction than anything else," said Karl Haeling of LBBW, stressing that the New York market had just posted "in a week and a half a better rebound than in a year and a half!".

The Dow Jones and the S&P 500, however, remain 7% below their year-end highs, and for the Nasdaq, the gap is 40%.

For Mr. Haeling, "some stocks were overbought, as for Treasuries they were oversold" after remarks made Monday by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell.

He warned that the institution would take a more aggressive stance against inflation, which caused bond sales and therefore an increase in their yields.

Investors were also worried about the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

"Ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine continue without offering any promises as NATO leaders prepare for talks to be attended by President Joe Biden," Schwab analysts said. .

Oil prices rebounded, climbing more than 5% to above $120 a barrel for Brent, boosted by the prospect of new sanctions against Russia and damage to a Russian oil terminal due to a storm.

Another difficulty for the hydrocarbons market, which was also pushing gas prices up, Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would no longer accept payments in dollars or euros for gas deliveries to the European Union.

Rare sector of the S&P to evolve in the green, the energy sector (+ 1.74%) benefited from the surge in the price of black gold such as ConocoPhillips (+ 2.55%) or Exxon Mobil (+ 1.58 %).

Nine of the eleven S&P sectors fell into negative territory, led by banks and financials (-1.84%), health services (-1.77%) and information technology ( -1.50%).

“Today marked the second anniversary of the New York Stock Exchange plunge when the Covid-19 epidemic appeared” in the United States in March 2020, observed Karl Haeling.

"This is not just an anecdotal detail but it shows that the economic challenges we face today, such as inflation, are the result of the effects of the pandemic but also of the economic remedies provided, such as the rates of very low interest or stimulus injection," added the expert.

The Adobe software group plunged 9.34% to 422.90 dollars after announcing strong results for the second quarter of its fiscal year but disappointing forecasts.

Agribusiness giant General Mills climbed 2.47% to $64.33 as its quarterly financial results beat expectations.

Shares in video game store chain GameStop, which wreaked havoc on Wall Street a year ago when it became the darling stock of small online investors, jumped 14.50% to $141.

Board Chairman Ryan Cohen said he purchased $100,000 worth of company stock.

Another title, that of the AMC cinemas, with the potential for viral mobilization of online investors as well, gained 13.58% to 20.74 dollars.

© 2022 AFP