The New York Stock Exchange was hesitant on Tuesday, between profit warning from Home Depot and the persistence of uncertainties on trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing, following new tax threats from Donald Trump. However, a new postponement of sanctions imposed on Huawei has welcomed the technology section, allowing the Nasdaq to set a new record at the close. WTI oil plunged more than 3% in fear of new trade tensions, and pending the figures of weekly stocks in the United States, which will be released Wednesday.
At closing, the Dow Jones fell by 0.37% to 27,934 points, weighed down by the fall of Home Depot, while the broad S & P 500 index dropped 0.06% to 3,120 points. The Nasdaq Composite on the other hand gained 0.24% to 8,570 points, a new historic high, thanks to the announcement of a new postponement of 90 days of US sanctions against the Chinese Huawei, which supplies components to many American companies.
The macroeconomic data published today in the United States showed mixed results for the construction sector. Housing starts were slightly lower than expected in October at 1.314 million, against 1.32 million consensus and after 1.266 million in September. On the other hand, building permits were higher than expected last month at 1.461 million, against 1.378 million consensus and 1.391 million in September.
Oil fell sharply Tuesday amid doubts about the US-China trade agreement and after rumors of a further sharp rise in US crude inventories, whose level will be released Wednesday.
The price of a barrel of US light crude ( WTI ) lost 3.16% to $ 55.25 (after a loss of 1.5% Monday) on the Nymex (December futures contract), while the Brent of the North Sea fell 2.45% to $ 60.91 (after -1.3% Monday) for the January futures contract. On Wall Street, oil stocks ended at half-mast, including ExxonMobil (-1%), Chevron (-1.7%) Halliburton (-1.4%) or Transocean (-3.4%).
The golden ounce has benefited a bit from the return of uncertainties on the markets, progressing from 0.02% Tuesday on the Comex market, to 1,472.20 for the December futures contract. The yellow metal had gained 0.25% the day before, confirming to have reached a zone of resistance after its fall of 3% undergone in the first week of November.
