Wall Street ends in scattered order on a background of caution

by Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended in disarray on Tuesday as concerns over the woes of Chinese real estate group Evergrande, which had caused a sharp pullback the day before, and uncertainty surrounding the monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed) fueled cautiousness in the markets.

The Dow Jones index lost 0.15%, or 50.63 points, to 33,919.84 points.

The larger S & P-500 lost 3.54 points, or 0.08%, to 4,354.19 points.

The Nasdaq Composite has advanced by 32.50 points (0.22%) to 14,746.40 points.

The session turned into a roller-coaster ride, with the Dow Jones and the S & P-500 seeing just before the close of prior gains fade away.

Among the major sectors of the S & P-500, industry posted the largest losses.

Wall Street was weighed down on Monday by the concern surrounding the risks of weakening the financial system in China due to the setbacks of Evergrande, threatened with default on its debts at the approach of risky maturities.

This concern has added to concerns related to the coronavirus health crisis and the recovery of the US economy.

Investors are now awaiting the Fed’s statement following its monetary policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. The US central bank is expected to present the framework of its ‘tapering’ – the gradual reduction of its bond purchases in the markets.

A formal announcement from the Federal Reserve, however, is not expected by observers before the November or December meeting.

Walt Disney fell 4.2% and weighed on both the S & P-500 and the Dow Jones after the entertainment giant’s chief executive said the resurgence of the coronavirus outbreak, due to the Delta variant, delayed the production of certain cinematographic titles.

Shares of American Airlines and JetBlue Airways fell after court documents filed in a federal court in Boston showed the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust complaint to prevent the combination of the two airlines.

(French version Jean Terzian)