Wall Street continues to consolidate on Tuesday morning, penalized by the return of geopolitical concerns and profit-taking in technology stocks.

At the end of the morning, the Dow Jones dropped more than 1% to 39,155.7 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gave up 1.4% to 16,167.4 points.167.4 points.

The New York indices, which had already paused on Monday, continued to catch their breath after setting new records last week.

Over the first quarter as a whole, the Dow Jones gained 5.6%, while the Nasdaq gained 9.1%.

Early morning news of a rebound in industrial orders failed to put the markets back on a favorable trajectory.

After a 3.8% fall in January, US industrial orders recovered by 1.4% in February, according to the Commerce Department.

Investors are preferring to remain cautious ahead of a busy week of economic indicators and speeches by Fed officials.

In addition to the ISM services index, due tomorrow, the always closely watched employment figures are expected this week, on Friday.

Investors are also counting on a promising crop of results, starting in mid-April, to maintain the bullish momentum of the markets after a spectacular first quarter.

On the stock front, technology stocks are under pressure, with their sector index down (-1.6%) after having surged by 13% over the first three months of the year.

Electric car manufacturer Tesla lost a further 6% in early trading after announcing an 8% fall in vehicle deliveries in the first quarter.

Only the energy sector (+0.7%) stood out as oil prices recovered following the Tsahal strikes on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which left several people dead.

This heightened tension, which has raised fears of escalation in the Middle East, is reflected in the markets by a rise in the price of US light crude (WTI), which is up 1.2% at over $84.7 a barrel.

GE Vernova, GE's energy subsidiary, gained 2.8% on its stock market debut following its spin-off from GE, the latest stage in the dismantling of the American industrial conglomerate.

At $2297.9, the ounce of gold also set a new high, benefiting from a return to safe-haven assets in the face of geopolitical concerns.

Copyright (c) 2024 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.