New York (AFP)

The main indices of the New York Stock Exchange ended at unpublished levels Friday, buoyed by a renewed optimism on a trade agreement between Washington and Beijing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the flagship index of Wall Street, gained 0.80% to finish at 28,004.89 points.

Up 1.2% over the week, it recorded its fourth consecutive weekly increase.

The Nasdaq, with its strong technological color, appreciated by 0.73% to 8,540.83 points, and the S & P 500 index increased by 0.77% to 3,120.46 points.

Nasdaq gained 0.8% over the week, climbing for the seventh straight week, while the S & P 500 posted a weekly gain of 0.9%, up for the sixth week in a row.

After several sessions without momentum, the indices left the Friday after encouraging comments from the White House economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, who said Thursday evening that the discussions were in the final finish.

He hinted Friday that a trade agreement between the world's two largest economic powers could be signed by ministers while Donald Trump has so far evoked a signing with his Chinese counterpart.

"There is a lot of back and forth on the subject and a few days ago, it seemed that the tone of the negotiations was rather negative," said Bill Lynch of Hinsdale Associates.

"But in the absence of significant economic news, or the results of important companies, the market has reacted positively to the fact that we seem to be moving closer to a trade agreement," he added.

For now, the two sides are still struggling to agree on the lifting of additional tariffs imposed by Washington on hundreds of billions of dollars in imports from China.

Beijing demands their removal as a condition for the signing of a treaty, the tariff war increasingly affecting the economy of the Asian giant.

In unison behind the host of the White House, Commerce Minister Wilbur Ross said Friday that Washington had not agreed to the removal of these surcharges customs.

The stocks of multinationals particularly sensitive to the jolts of the Sino-US discussions benefited: Caterpillar gained 1.33%, Boeing 1.10% and Apple 1.19%.

The indicators of the day on the health of the American economy were half-hearted.

Retail sales in the United States rose 0.3% in October after the surprise decline of the previous month, which is slightly above analysts' forecasts.

The pace of growth in manufacturing activity in the New York area slowed somewhat in November after a surprise rebound the previous month.

In the bond market, the 10-year rate on US debt rose to 1.832% at 21:15 GMT against 1,819% the day before closing.

© 2019 AFP