New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange ended in decline on Wednesday, worried about the impact of the Delta variant and still uncertain about the evolution of monetary policies.

According to final figures, the Dow Jones index lost 0.20% to 35,031.07 points, its lowest level in two weeks.

After a series of records, the Nasdaq, with strong technological coloring, dropped 0.57% to 15,286.64 points.

The S&P 500, in the red for the third session in a row, dropped 0.13% to 4,514.09 points.

The market, which had opened in scattered order, finally deepened its losses "as lingering concerns about the pandemic and nervousness over the prospects of cutting back purchases by the Fed put pressure on investor moods", stressed Wells Fargo analysts.

In session, the Nasdaq lost more than 1%.

Senior US Central Bank official John Williams, chairman of the New York Fed, blew hot and cold, saying that if the economy continues to improve "it may be appropriate to start slowing down asset purchases this year ".

But he added a caveat, saying he wanted to see "more improvements" especially on the employment front.

The Federal Reserve also released its latest report on the activity of the world's largest economy ahead of its monetary policy meeting on September 21-22.

The Beige Book attests that the growth of the United States slowed this summer because of the Delta variant.

He cites both barriers to tourism and the travel industry, component supply disruptions, labor shortages and high prices coupled with wage increases.

However, companies remain generally optimistic about short-term activity.

- Labor shortage -

A survey by the Department of Labor (Jolts report) also showed that the available jobs reached a record in July, nearly 11 million, more than the number of unemployed people (8.7 million), showing that the shortage of labor -work does not weaken.

"This picture of unemployment remains a source of uncertainty as the gap between the demand for labor and job seekers has widened further," noted Schwab analysts.

On the monetary front, investors will watch Thursday the outcome of the meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB) to know if it will normalize its monetary policy more quickly.

Among stocks, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase lost 3.23% to $ 258.20 after receiving a letter from the US stock market policeman, the SEC, threatening it with legal action if it launched a cryptocurrency loan offer. .

The American biotech Kadmon, which the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced to buy for 1.9 billion dollars, jumped 71.13% to 9.07 dollars.

Paint maker Sherwin-Williams dropped 2.03% to $ 296.69 after complaining, like other companies, of difficulties in sourcing raw materials.

The online payment services firm PayPal was sanctioned (-2.74% to 285.23 dollars) after announcing its plan to acquire the Japanese specialist in credit purchases on the internet Paidy for 2.7 billion dollars.

Software company Citrix gained 2.99% to $ 106.59 as activist investment fund Elliott Management took a $ 1.3 billion stake in the group, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Yields on 10-year Treasuries eased sharply to 1.33% from 1.37% the day before.

The dollar, a safe haven, rose against the major currencies, hitting a one-week high.

© 2021 AFP