“Exxon and Intel Results Drive NYSE Higher Despite Inflation Concerns”

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Friday thanks to the results and outlook of Exxon and Intel, while the indicators of the day, while confirming the scenario of a continuation of monetary tightening, have dispelled the fear of a sudden slowdown in activity.

The Dow Jones Index gained 272 points, or 0.8%, to 34,098.16 points, the S&P 500 34.13 points, or 0.83%, to 4,169.48 points and the Nasdaq Composite 84.35 points, or 0.69%, to 12,226.58.

Over the past week, the Dow Jones and the S&P rose by 0.9% and the Nasdaq by 1.3%.

Exxon Mobil shares rose 1.2% after hitting an intraday high as the oil and gas group reported record first-quarter profit on the back of an increase in output.

Intel, which said it expected an improvement in its margins in the second half, saw its stock price climb by just over 4%.

Conversely, Amazon fell 3.97% despite better-than-expected quarterly results after signaling that its cloud computing business would slow further.

Snap Inc., owner of the Snapchat platform, plunged 17% after warning that its next quarter results would fall short of Wall Street expectations. Pinterest, the image-sharing platform, fell 15.65% after second-quarter results fell short of expectations.

The publication of the inflation measure favored by the Federal Reserve, the “core PCE” index, confirmed on Friday that underlying inflationary pressures remained strong in the United States, despite a slowdown to 4.6% of the year-on-year index in March, supporting the expectation of a 25 basis point Fed rate hike next week.

Consumer spending, for its part, remained stable in March.

(French version Jean-Stéphane Brosse)