Around 14:05 GMT, the Dow Jones was down 0.24%, the Nasdaq index was close to balance (-0.01%) and the broader S&P 500 index lost 0.09%.

"A certain lethargy has gripped the equity market, whose participants are exhausted by the rise in bond yields and the idea that the key rate (of the US central bank) could rise further," Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com

The yield on 10-year US government bonds rose on Monday to 4.53%, a first in nearly 16 years, against 4.43% Friday at the close.

This context weighed on equities, which "are experiencing a decline", started several weeks ago, according to Sam Stovall of CFRA.

According to him, it is "a moderate correction" that could see the market planed from 5% to 10%, the S&P 500 testing several major technical levels, namely 4,200 points, then possibly 4,000 points (it was at 4,318 points at 14:05 GMT).

However, the analyst sees Wall Street recovering during the last two months of the year. "We are not done with this bull market," anticipates Sam Stovall.

Investors were also concerned about the budget impasse in Congress, which could lead the U.S. government to suspend part of its activities as early as October 1 due to a lack of funding.

In a sign of renewed nervousness in New York, the VIX index, which measures market volatility, has returned to higher levels over the past month.

Among the giant capitalizations of the technology sector, Amazon was doing well (+0.97%), after unveiling a major investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) start-up called generative Anthropic.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Seattle group will immediately inject $ 1.25 billion and could increase its bet to $ 4 billion according to certain criteria.

Only Netflix (+0.91%) benefited from the agreement in principle between the Hollywood scriptwriters' union and the studios, which must end a strike that began nearly five months ago. Disney (-0.27%), Paramount Global (-0.95%) and Warner Bros Discovery (-1.44%) were all in the red.

HP was surviving despite the sale by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's holding company, of 4.8 million shares of the computer maker last week, according to a document released Friday by the stock regulator, the SEC.

Boeing (-0.78%) did not benefit from the order placed by Air Canada, which has acquired 18 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft, the first of which are due to be delivered at the end of 2025. At list price, the order is worth about six billion dollars.

The pharmacy chain Rite Aid was down (-17.24%) after the Wall Street Journal reported discussions between the group and its creditors for bankruptcy. According to the newspaper, the Philadelphia-based company has proposed closing 400 to 500 branches as part of a backup plan.

© 2023 AFP