New York (EFE).- Wall Street closed the week on mixed terrain, with a slight decline in the Dow Jones and advances in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.
After the rise in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), the good data from the labor market and the results of the big technology companies.
In the accumulated of the last five days, the Dow Jones Industrials falls a slight 0.2%, while the S&P 500 rises 1.6% and the Nasdaq index, which brings together the main technology companies, gains a notable 3, 3%, in its fifth consecutive week on the rise after the collapse of last year.
The Fed’s decision and its impact on Wall Street
The determining factor of the week on Wall Street was the decision of the Fed to raise rates moderately, by a quarter of a percentage point, to a range of 4.5-4.75%, as expected, and the statements of its president, Jerome Powell, on the “disinflationary process” that according to him has already begun.
Despite everything, the analysts were not claiming victory, as the Wells Fargo team indicated in a note released today: “The clear message was that the work has not yet finished to bring inflation to 2% and that there is more adjustment ahead, but we still don’t know how much.
And this Friday the spirits deflated, paradoxically, due to the impact that the good report on the US labor market in January could have on monetary policy, with more hiring than estimated (517,000) and a drop in unemployment, to its lowest rate since 1969 (3.4%).
“The disinflationary process may have started, but a strong labor market may be problematic for those who bet that inflation will continue to decline rapidly,” said analyst Ed Moya of the firm Oanda in a note.
The results of the technological
In parallel, several of the country’s large technology companies -Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Apple- published annual and quarterly results that have made it clear how their growth after the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic has come to an end.
There were widespread reductions in profit and even annual losses in the case of Amazon, which this Friday fell more than 8%, although the reaction of the stock market was based on expectations about these data; in the case of Meta, which did comply, the share shot up more than 20%.
By sectors, the weekly advance of communications and non-essential goods companies stands out, both at around 8%, and followed by technology, more than 5%, while the only ones affected are energy (-7%) .
In the oil market, the price of Texas (WTI) futures loses around 7% weekly, affected by doubts regarding the recovery of demand from China and fear of a high interest rate environment that will contribute to the recession and, therefore, to fuel spending.
