New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange ended the last session of August in a disorganized manner, investors pausing after a month dominated by the nervousness and excitement of a market reacting to the trade tensions Sino-US.

Its leading index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gained 0.16% to 26,403.28 points, while the Nasdaq, with strong technological color, yielded 0.13% to 7,962.88 points.

The broad S & P 500 index gained 0.06% at 2,926.46 points.

Over the whole month, the Dow Jones lost 1.7%, the Nasdaq yielded 2.6% and the S & P 500 dropped 1.8%.

The main New York indices, however, had clearly finished in the green the day before thanks to, among other things, the relative calm on the Sino-US trade front and the hope of a resumption of talks between the two largest economies.

"Investors reap their profits after several rises and before a three-day weekend in the United States," said Tom Cahill of Ventura Wealth Management.

Wall Street will be closed until Tuesday, Monday, September 2nd being a holiday in the United States because of Labor Day.

"New US tariffs should come into effect on September 1, which makes investors cautious," Cahill said.

A new tariff increase on Chinese goods is due to take effect Sunday in the United States, while Beijing has planned to impose new tariffs on 75 billion US imports.

- Conflicting economic indicators -

Investors also reacted Friday to a series of contradictory economic indicators.

Economic activity in the Chicago area, which contracted in June and July, recovered unexpectedly in August with a sharp recovery in orders, according to the ISM Association's Purchasing Managers' Index .

In contrast, consumer confidence registered a record drop in August due to concerns over the trade war, according to the final estimate of the University of Michigan survey.

Annual inflation in the United States remained in July far from the target of 2% of the Fed, standing at 1.4%, according to the PCE published by the Department of Commerce.

In the bond market, the 10-year US debt rate was 1.50%, slightly higher than the previous day.

Among the values ​​of the day, the title of Tesla rose by 1.8%. The Chinese government has announced that several models of the manufacturer of high-end electric vehicles will be exempted from the new tariffs.

Campbell Soup saw its share gain 3.9%. The American soup maker announced Friday quarterly results above expectations.

The title of the Dell computer manufacturer rose more than 10% after the announcement of better than expected results in the second quarter.

The cosmetics chain Ulta Beauty collapsed by more than 29% after downgrading its annual revenue forecast.

© 2019 AFP