New York (AFP)
The New York Stock Exchange was trading in scattered order in mid-session Wednesday, failing to start again in a market still concerned about the new coronavirus.
Around 19:15 GMT, the flagship Wall Street index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 0.37% to 26,981.83 points, and the broad S&P 500 index lost 0.23% to 3,120.99 points
The highly technological Nasdaq rose 0.13% to 8,976.91 points, but had given up most of its gains at the start of the session.
The main New York indices had nevertheless started up sharply after their plunge Monday and Tuesday, where they recorded losses close to or greater than 3%.
"We remain in a phase of uncertainty," notes Art Hogan, of National, while the spread of viral pneumonia seems to be accelerating in several European, Asian and Brazilian countries, despite an apparent slowdown in the cases identified in China.
"There are always more reasons to worry than to be confident. We do not know at what stage of the epidemic we are and we do not know the extent of the economic damage", continues the expert.
Donald Trump is due to speak late Wednesday from the White House on the coronavirus crisis in the presence of officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The American president accused his democratic opponents and certain media of fomenting the "panic" and to panic the markets, whereas the American health authorities plan however a propagation on the American soil.
On the bond market, the 10-year rate on the US debt continued to evolve close to its historic low, at 1.310%.
© 2020 AFP