Around 2:50 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones returned 0.17%, the Nasdaq index dropped 0.21% and the S&P 500 index lost 0.09%.

Well settled in positive territory, the futures contracts on the main indices turned around after the publication of the producer price index (PPI) for November.

The PPI index emerged up 0.3% over one month, more than the 0.2% forecast by economists.

Over one year, inflation is at 7.4%, more than the 7.2% expected but significantly less than the 8.1% observed in October, also over one year.

"Producer prices have leveled off and are decelerating, but their level remains high," commented Rubeela Farooqi of High Frequency Economics in a note.

The PPI index had peaked in March, at 11.7%, before beginning its descent.

These data “justify expectations of a slowdown in monetary tightening, but (…) rates will still have to continue to rise,” warned the economist.

For Quincy Krosby, of LPL Financial, even if the figures published on Friday are higher than expected, they still show that inflation is slowing.

She pointed out that, despite the disappointment, the reaction from the New York market had been subdued.

For her, "the market will absorb this news".

"The damage is much less severe than it would have been a few months ago," Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com added in a note.

For the analyst, this moderate reaction "could turn into a catalyst for a rebound".

Another sign of a certain phlegmatism on Wall Street, bond rates reacted little to the inflation indicator, which was however, theoretically, likely to make them rise significantly.

The yield on 10-year US government bonds reached 3.53%, against 3.48% the day before.

For Quincy Krosby, investors are most interested in the consumer price index (CPI), which will be released on Tuesday.

Wall Street was also awaiting the University of Michigan's monthly consumer sentiment survey at 3:00 p.m. GMT on Friday.

US consumer confidence picked up in December when analysts had expected it to fall, but remained at a historic low, according to the preliminary estimate from the University of Michigan released on Friday.

Listed, the semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom reported (+ 3.41% to 549.19 dollars) after the publication of results above expectations on Thursday, and forecasts also above expectations for the current quarter, from due to continued strong demand for remote computing (cloud).

The semi-wholesale retailer Costco (1.15% to 475.88 dollars) paid for the publication on Thursday of quarterly results below expectations.

During the conference call presenting the results, the financial director, Richard Galanti, reported a slowdown in sales, in particular on large purchases.

Netflix (+3.46% to 320.99 dollars) benefited from an increase in recommendation from Wells Fargo analysts, who expect a good 2023 vintage, thanks in particular to the rise of advertising.

The sports equipment manufacturer Lululemon (-10.65% to 334.62 dollars), popularized thanks to its yoga pants, fell back, despite the publication of a turnover and a net profit above expectations.

Investors were offended by the group's forecasts for the fourth quarter, considered cautious.

Chinese industrial fishing company Pingtan Marine Enterprise, listed on the Nasdaq, was suspended from trading after the US Treasury announced sanctions against the group, accused of illegal fishing.

The US assets of Pingtan and his boss, Xinrong Zhuo, have been frozen.

This is the first time that a Nasdaq-listed company has been subject to Treasury sanctions.

© 2022 AFP