‘It is clear that many investors are standing aside’

On Wall Street, the leading indices remained almost unchanged on Monday as investors were cautious after the S&P 500 reached a record level on Friday, and even a better-than-expected retail sales figure did not prompt them to buy.

The Dow Jones fell by 26 points, or 0.18 percent, to 15,091 points, while the S&P 500 remained unchanged at 1,633 points. The Nasdaq index, on the other hand, rose by 0.06 percent to 3,438 points.

After three weeks of continuous growth and record highs for the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices, caution prevailed on Wall Street.

While some analysts claim that a continuation of the long-term trend of rising stock prices is possible, others believe that the market is losing momentum due to a lack of significant news to encourage investors.

Since the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 has risen by 14.5 percent, primarily thanks to the loose monetary policy of the world’s largest central banks, and partly due to solid quarterly business results from companies.

However, as the earnings season comes to an end, support for the market from that side is weakening. This has made investors cautious, while trading volume is thin.

On Wall Street, NYSE MKT, and Nasdaq, only 5.3 billion shares changed hands yesterday, while the average daily volume this year is 6.4 billion.

– The volume is below average and trading is calm. It is clear that many investors are standing aside and waiting to see which direction the market will take – says Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners.

As a result, even the fact that retail sales in the U.S. rose by 0.1 percent in April, while analysts expected a decline of 0.3 percent, did not prompt investors to buy stocks. The strengthening of consumption is encouraging, but…

“Investors are unsure whether positive data can support further increases in stock prices, or whether it means that the Fed might soon start to reduce monetary stimulus due to the strengthening economy, which would negatively impact the stock market,” explains Joseph Tanious, strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.

European markets also traded cautiously yesterday. The London FTSE index rose by 0.10 percent to 6,631 points, while the Frankfurt DAX rose by 0.01 percent to 8,279 points, a new all-time high. The Paris CAC, on the other hand, fell by 0.22 percent to 3,945 points.