Wall Street slows down after a positive start, reopening after the break for the end of the year holidays. The S&P 500 drops 0.3% to 3,830 points, the Dow Jones marks a decline of 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite retreats 0.5% to 10,415 points.
On bonds, the ten-year Treasury yield fell to 3.75% while the two-year Treasury, more sensitive to monetary policy, fell to 4.36%. The dollar, on the other hand, gained ground against the euro (EUR/USD exchange rate down to 1.059).
Signs that Covid infections may have peaked in some of China’s biggest cities have spurred a rally in US-listed Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group, Baidu and electric vehicle maker Nio.
On the other hand, Tesla was down (-7.5%) after fourth-quarter deliveries missed estimates.
Tomorrow the focus will shift to the Fed minutes, while on Friday the spotlight will be on the job report, which will provide indications on the state of health of the stars and stripes labor market. These signals are also useful for interpreting the next moves in monetary policy.