On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices fell for the second consecutive day, pressured by the technology sector, whose stocks are increasingly being deemed overvalued. The Dow Jones index slightly strengthened by 0.04 percent, to 44,938 points, while the S&P 500 slid by 0.24 percent, to 6,395 points, and the Nasdaq by 0.67 percent, to 21,172 points.
The S&P 500 technology sector index fell by 0.8 percent, with Intel being the biggest loser, down nearly 7 percent. Micron followed with a decline of 4 percent. Analysts warn that many companies, despite significant investments, are currently failing to capitalize on the development of artificial intelligence.
Market nervousness was further fueled by the White House’s policies. President Donald Trump’s administration is seeking ways to acquire stakes in chip manufacturers like Intel, after agreeing with Nvidia and AMD to pay a portion of export revenues from chips to China.
An additional dose of caution was prompted by the minutes from the last meeting of the U.S. central bank, which showed that a large majority of Fed leaders favored maintaining interest rates, dampening expectations that a reduction could occur as early as September. Markets are now closely awaiting messages from central bankers at the annual gathering in Jackson Hole from August 21 to 23, where Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak about economic prospects and monetary policy.
