According to final results, the Dow Jones index fell 0.86% to 33,706.74 points, the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.01% to 12,705.21 points and the broader S&P 500 index fell. from 1.29% to 4,228.48 points.

Wall Street first digested "comments from several regional Fed officials", who insisted on the need to continue monetary tightening to curb inflation, Wells Fargo analysts summed up.

The president of the regional branch of the St Louis Fed, James Bullard, had indicated on Thursday "leaning at this stage, towards 75 basis points" for the next rate hike in September.

That of the Richmond branch, Thomas Barkin, reminded him on Friday that the acceleration next month of the reduction in the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve (Fed), by ceasing to reinvest in assets, would further tighten the financial conditions.

Will the key to the Fed's messages be given at next week's Jackson Hole central bankers' symposium where Fed chief Jerome Powell is due to speak on Friday?

“Are they going to send signals about future monetary policy as they have done in previous years? Are they going to insist on the need for a restrictive policy?” Asked Karl Haeling of LBBW.

On the bond market, rates rose to more than 2.97% against 2.88% the day before for 10-year Treasury bills, the highest in a month.

Bond yields are "climbing across the world and that's affecting equities," commented Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities.

Karl Haeling also noted that "the downward pressure on the equity market as well as on bonds came from Europe" with the high inflation rates in July announced in the United Kingdom (+10.1%) and in Germany ( +7.5%).

"The impact on the US economy is that if Europe has so much inflationary pressure, it will last longer in the US," he added.

safe haven dollar

The dollar, a safe haven par excellence, jumped 0.55% for the dollar index and 0.46% against the euro.

The greenback stood at 0.9959 euros, a breath away from parity, already reached on July 12 for the first time in 20 years.

Oil prices gained ground, boosted by the European gas crisis;

the barrel of American WTI went back above 90 dollars.

Risky asset par excellence, bitcoin fell 9.39% around 8:30 p.m. GMT to 21,231 dollars.

The virtual currency has lost more than $2,000 in the past twenty-four hours.

The Nasdaq, where many technology stocks are concentrated, riskier assets that are very sensitive to rate hikes, was the most affected.

Meta (Facebook) lost 3.84%, Alphabet (Google) 2.27%, Tesla 2.05%.

As for Apple, which also discovered a security flaw in its iPhones and iPads which "could have been actively exploited" by hackers, it lost 1.51%.

Automaker Rivian slumped 4.04% to $34.45 after announcing it was ceasing production of its cheapest version of its pickup truck.

The oil group Occidental Petroleum jumped from 9.88% to 71.29% while Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway) obtained a regulatory green light to increase its stake to 50%.

The announcement by General Motors to redistribute a dividend and resume a share buyback program was well received (+2.53%).

The highly speculative title of the ailing home goods brand, Bed Bath and Beyond, collapsed 40.54% to 11.03 dollars after the defection of one of its main shareholders.

Ryan Cohen, the boss of the chain of video game stores, GameStop, offloaded a stake of some 11.8% in the company.

Earlier in the week, he revealed his rise in capital, which made investors believe that he was going to be a long-term partner and caused the stock to double in value within days.

Some investors felt they were wrong and called for an investigation by the stock market watchdog, the SEC.

© 2022 AFP