New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange cautiously wrapped up a sawtooth session on Wednesday, influenced by political tensions in Congress, the continued coronavirus vaccination campaign and the approach of earnings season on Wall Street .

According to final results at the close, the Dow Jones finished close to breakeven (-0.03%) at 31,060.47 points.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq posted a gain of 0.43% to 13,128.95 points, while the broader S&P 500 index advanced 0.23% to 3,809.84 points.

On Wednesday, financial circles had their eyes turned to the House of Representatives, which began to vote, before the close, a historic second impeachment procedure against Donald Trump.

The president was indicted for "inciting insurgency" during the assault on the Capitol by his supporters on January 6.

This vote marks the formal opening of the impeachment procedure against Donald Trump, and it is now up to the Senate to judge him.

However, these events did not distract investors from the markets.

"People are more afraid of missing a hike than of suffering a fall" at the moment on the stock market, summed up Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services.

"As soon as a title drops a bit, it is bought back the next day," he added.

The markets continue to wait for positive events such as "the important aid plan that Joe Biden will propose or a wider deployment of vaccines", added the analyst, believing that the market was "not concerned" by the impeachment procedure.

"The market is no longer moving on these political data. The Trump page is turned, whatever the twists and turns that remain," assured Mr. Volokhine.

Among the indicators, consumer prices climbed 0.4% in December in the United States, inflation driven by rising gasoline prices at the pump, according to the CPI index published by the Department of Job.

The Central Bank has also released its Beige Book, the last economic survey before its next monetary meeting on January 26 and 27.

Activity improved moderately for US businesses in the final weeks of 2020, and a third of regions show activity decline or stagnation.

Wall Street was also preparing for the start of the earnings season, with several major US banks (JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo) to submit their quarterly balance sheets at the end of the week.

Among today's values, Intel climbed 6.97%.

The CEO of the semiconductor manufacturer, Bob Swan, will step down on February 15, an announcement that comes just two weeks after the capitalization of activist shareholder Dan Loeb, who calls for a split from the group.

Interactive apartment bike maker Peloton jumped 7.29% to 167.42 dollars after a good rating from an analyst.

The online lending firm Affirm, which was going public, saw its stock soar from $ 49 at the IPO to $ 97.24 at the close (+ 98%).

The title of video game seller GameStop, which has seen the arrival of activist shareholders to its board of directors, has climbed 57.39%.

© 2021 AFP