New York (AFP)

The main indices of the New York Stock Exchange broke new records Thursday, ignoring the impeachment of Donald Trump, synonymous with impeachment proceedings for the American president, and the publication of contrasting indicators.

Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gained 0.49% to close at 28,376.96 points.

The Nasdaq, with a strong technological coloring, rose by 0.67% to finish at 8,887.22 points.

The broad S&P 500 index appreciated by 0.45% to 3,205.37 points, crossing for the first time the symbolic threshold of 3,200 points.

The New York place was not affected by the vote, Wednesday evening, in the House of Representatives, dominated by the Democrats, in favor of the "impeachement" of the 73-year-old Republican billionaire for "abuse of power".

It will now be up to the Senate, where the Republicans have the majority, to judge Donald Trump, presumably in January.

"The market will largely ignore impeachment and focus on corporate results, interest rates and Federal Reserve policy," said National's Art Hogan.

Among the big names on the New York coast, Nike published after the close of the results exceeding analysts' expectations.

Among the indicators, unemployment benefit claims fell to 234,000 for the second week of December, after reaching their highest in two years (252,000 claimants) the previous week, according to weekly figures from the Labor Department.

Resales of homes in the United States fell in November, thwarting analysts' expectations, according to data from the National Association of American Real Estate Agents (NAR).

Meanwhile, trading volumes were relatively low in the equity market this week, notes Hogan, which helped the indices beat their records.

Last year at the same time, the New York Stock Exchange was severely handicapped by a multitude of negative factors, including the Sino-American trade war, the rise in Fed interest rates and the paralysis of American administrations.

"Everyone was worried about a repetition of what happened last December. For the moment, we have been pleasantly surprised. This pushes people to invest before the end of the year", details Mr. Hogan.

On the bond market, the 10-year Treasury bill rate rose slightly around 9:30 p.m. GMT, to 1.919% against 1.917% on Wednesday at the close.

© 2019 AFP