New York (AFP)

Wall Street closed lower Wednesday in a market again clouded by uncertainties related to trade tensions between Beijing and Washington but a report by the US central bank (Fed) has left stone.

According to the final results at closing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.39% to 25,776.61 points and the Nasdaq index, with strong technological color, 0.45% to 7,750.84 points.

The broad S & P 500 index dropped 0.28% to 2,856.27 points.

"Investors are still trying to determine on what scale the trade war may affect their portfolio," said Ken Berman of Gorilla Trades.

At work for almost a year now, the imposition of punitive tariffs between Beijing and Washington seems sometimes inextricable, while neither side seems to give way.

Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin acknowledged that US consumers could pay more for a few products because of tariffs on goods from China equivalent to 250 billion imports, contrary to the denials of US President Donald Trump .

The Chinese ambassador to the United States, for his part, accused Washington of having repeatedly "changed its mind overnight" and thus failed agreements likely to end the trade dispute.

Whatever the strategies on both sides to take advantage of the negotiations, there remains a "feeling of unease," said analysts Charles Schwab.

On the other hand, the minutes of the last meeting of the US central bank (Fed) caused a relative indifference to the extent that few new elements appeared.

Fed members have estimated that many uncertainties affecting the outlook for the US and global economies have diminished even though some risks persist.

"The Fed is determined to leave rates unchanged this year," said Chris Low of FTN Financial.

The Fed's comments on the April 30th and May 1st meetings were, however, made before Donald Trump imposed a new tariff increase on 200 billion imports from China.

On the securities front, the markets suffered from Qualcomm's plummet (-10.86%) after a California judge accused him of "strangling the competition" and condemned for anti-competitive practices in the market. field of microprocessors for mobile phones.

In the bond market, the rate on the 10-year US debt fell and traded at 2.383% around 20:30 GMT, against 2,426% Tuesday night.

? 2019 AFP