New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply lower on Thursday, dried up by the rise of Sino-US tensions, which are currently crystallizing around the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, and its possible impact on the economy.

The Wall Street index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, dropped 1.11% to 25,490.47 points, and the Nasdaq index, with strong technological color, fell by 1.58% to 7,628.28. points.

The broad S & P 500 index fell 1.19% to 2,822.24 points.

Sign of investors' appetite for assets considered less risky, the 10-year US debt rate fell to 20:10 GMT to 2,310%, falling to its lowest level since late 2017.

"The combination of ominous headlines around the world, negative economic indicators and lingering trade uncertainties have weighed on the mindset of investors," commented Ken Berman, an analyst at Gorilla Trades.

Investors are increasingly worried about rising Sino-US tensions, which are currently crystallizing around the Chinese telecom giant Huawei placed last week by Washington on a list of suspicious companies.

While the world number two smartphone is gradually dropped by its trading partners, the head of the American diplomacy has intensified the pressure accusing Huawei Thursday to lie on its real links with the Chinese authorities who, they denounce the "harassment" " the United States.

At the same time, US officials from both sides - a rare event - have proposed legislation to protect Huawei's future US 5G network.

"The risk is that both sides remain stubborn and that trade tensions extend beyond 2019," commented Art Hogan, National Investment Company.

The International Monetary Fund has also launched Thursday a serious warning to the United States and China, saying that their tussle may jeopardize the global economic rebound expected for the second half of 2019.

US statistics have confirmed this hypothesis on Thursday: according to the first estimate of Markit's composite PMI index, growth in private activity slowed sharply in May at 50.9 points, its lowest level in the world. three years.

The index measuring manufacturing output, at 50.6 points, has even dropped to its lowest level since 2009.

"For once, investors are not only reacting to tweets and noise on business negotiations," commented Gregori Volokhine, portfolio manager for Meeschaert Financial Services. "These cool indices are the first sign that we may be approaching a point of inflection on US growth."

? 2019 AFP