Photo of traders in New York
by Herbert Lash and Shreyashi Sanyal
(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended in disarray on Tuesday amid concerns over the U.S. debt ceiling as Republican lawmakers voiced opposition to the deal sealed with the White House, while Nvidia said briefly exceeded the threshold of 1,000 billion dollars in capitalization.
The Dow Jones index fell 0.15%, or 50.56 points, to 33,042.78 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 0.07 points to 4,205.52 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 41.74 points (0.32%) to 13,017.43 points.
Despite a marginal rise, the S&P-500 remains close to a peak since August 2022 and, along with the Nasdaq which rose, is heading for a gain for the whole of May.
The week could be decisive for the United States to avoid a default in June. While Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy found a temporary budget deal on US debt over the weekend, it is now up to Congress to decide on the text.
If Joe Biden and Kevin McCarthy have expressed optimism that the bill will pass by both houses of Congress, where each side controls a house with a narrow majority, ultra-conservative Republican elected officials have expressed their dissatisfaction, casting doubt on voting.
“Getting the debt ceiling text into law won’t lift the other shadows in the market,” said Anthony Saglimbene, a strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Michigan.
The US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) rate-hike campaign to curb inflation is hurting economic growth and corporate earnings, he said, adding that Wall Street was being carried by a small number of companies.
Data shows U.S. consumer confidence rose more than expected in May, which could add weight to speculation that the Fed will raise rates further after a pause was initially expected , at its June meeting.
Of the eleven major sectors of the S&P-500, only three ended the session in the green. Energy is one of the declining sectors, in line with the drop in oil prices.
Nvidia reached an all-time high in the session and temporarily exceeded 1,000 billion dollars in market capitalization, while the semiconductor manufacturer is betting on a surge in demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) chips, before erasing a part of its gains to end at +3.0%.
Among other moves of note, Digital Realty rose 1.7%, the day after jumping more than 14%, amid expectations that AI will benefit data center companies.
Tesla ended higher as its boss, Elon Musk, makes his first visit to China in three years.
(French version Jean Terzian)