New York (AFP)
The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply on Friday, continuing to digest the change in tone of the US Central Bank, which has revised upwards its inflation forecasts and plans to raise its key rates by 2023.
The Dow Jones lost 1.58% to 33,290.08 points and recorded its biggest weekly loss (-3.45%) since the end of October.
The Nasdaq fell 0.92% to 14,030.38 points and the S&P 500 fell 1.31% to 4,166.45 points.
Over the week, the Nasdaq lost 0.28% and the S&P 500 was down 1.91%.
"Volatility has remained in the wake of the Fed's gradual move towards a more restrictive monetary policy, which raises growing doubts about the timing of the slowdown of the central bank's asset buyback program," note the Charles Schwab analysts.
The key rates, maintained for nearly a year and a half at a very low level to support the American economy in the face of the pandemic, could for their part rise twice by 2023 if we stick to the "dowry" plot "(the average of the Fed's projections) from the last Fed meeting.
Friday morning, James Bullard, chairman of the Federal Reserve of Saint Louis, even considered an increase as early as next year.
"We expect a good year and a good reopening (of the economy, editor's note)," Bullard said on CNBC.
"But it's an even better year than we expected, with more inflation than we expected. So it seems fitting that we take a bit more severe tone to contain inflationary pressures."
Friday's session was also a day known as the "Four Witches", at the end of which several contracts on financial products expire.
Among the values of the day, the specialist software Adobe rose 2.58%, benefiting from better than expected quarterly results.
U.S. firearms maker Smith & Wesson jumped 17.22% after reporting a sharp rise in quarterly revenues.
On the bond market, the 10-year rate on the US debt evolved at 1.43%, against 1.51% Thursday night.
© 2021 AFP