New York (AFP)
The NYSE ended sharply higher on Tuesday, lifted by easing fears of trade tensions and the prospect of the US central bank open the door to lower rates.
Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, jumped 2.06% to 25,332.18 points and the Nasdaq index, with strong technological color, rose by 2.65% to 7,527.12 points.
The broad index S & P 500 took 2.14%, to 2,803.27 points.
After several difficult sessions, the market was reassured "by positive news on two fronts, that of the commercial tensions and that of the rates of the Federal Reserve (Fed)", deciphered Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors.
Observers were struck by comments from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce that the trade dispute must be resolved through continuous dialogue. Something to reassure investors who have worried for weeks to see Washington and Beijing at loggerheads and fear the consequences on the economy of a conflict dragging on.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Republican majority in the US Senate on Tuesday expressed the French Malay in its ranks caused by the threat of President Donald Trump to impose tariffs in Mexico to force the country to stem the flow of illegal immigrants. Some elected Republicans even consider, according to the Washington Post, a congressional vote to block these measures and avoid embarking the country in another openly hostile trade dispute.
The chairman of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, has in any case claimed that the institution was monitoring "closely" the effects of the intensification of the trade war committed by Donald Trump and was, "as always", ready to act "to support expansion".
In summary, "Powell said that if needed, the Fed would lower rates," said Maris Ogg.
The comments of the boss of the institution in any case suggest that the subject will be on the table at the next meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee, in two weeks. This prospect delights the Wall Street brokers, who have largely benefited in recent years from low rates of the Fed.
Another encouraging factor: in the bond market, the ten-year US rate rebounded sharply and moved towards 20.15 GMT to 2.125%. It had fallen the day before at its lowest since September 2017, a sign that investors preferred to abandon risky assets, such as equities, in favor of safer investments, such as US government bonds.
? 2019 AFP