New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange opened in scattered order on Wednesday, with the market taking a wait-and-see attitude ahead of an economic report from the U.S. central bank (Fed), the Beige Book, which is expected to provide insight into the impact of the Delta variant on the activity.

Around 2:00 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones was hovering around equilibrium, grabbing 0.05%, the technology-intensive Nasdaq fell 0.34% and the S&P 500 0.18%.

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones index lost 0.76% to 35,100.00 points and the S&P 500 0.34% to 4,520.03 points.

The Nasdaq had gleaned 0.07%, allowing it to register a new record of 15,374.33 points.

“Investor reluctance has continued since Tuesday and is certainly fueled by the idea that the stock market is ripe for a downturn,” said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

For Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital, the markets would be watching for the publication of the Fed's Beige Book at 6 p.m. GMT, the latest report on the activity of the world's largest economy before the next Central Bank (Fed) meeting on September 21 and 22. .

"There is no doubt that the economy has slowed down and the Beige Book should give us some answers to the negative impact deriving from the Covid virus," said the analyst.

The evolution of consumer credit, a barometer of consumer activity in the United States, must also be published.

Investors will also wait for a first indicator of inflation in August with the producer price index on Friday.

Among stocks, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase lost more than 4% to $ 256 after receiving a letter from the U.S. stock market policeman, the SEC, threatening the company 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 72% to 9.15 dollars.

The manufacturer of paints Sherwin-Williams dropped 2.51% to 294 dollars after lowering its outlook for the third quarter and especially signaling its difficulties in obtaining raw materials.

Yields on 10-year Treasuries, which had risen sharply the day before, eased somewhat to 1.35% from 1.37%.

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

© 2021 AFP