New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange rose at the opening on Thursday, welcoming advances on the commercial front, solid results from Morgan Stanley and American indicators of good performance.

The flagship index of the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, took around 14:45 GMT 0.55% to 29,190.67 points.

The highly technological Nasdaq gained 0.81% to 9,334.25 points, and the broad S&P 500 index rose 0.55% to 3,307.31 points.

Wall Street had already finished in the green Wednesday, supported by the signing, without great surprise, of the partial commercial agreement between Washington and Beijing, and by a salvo of quarterly figures of companies exceeding the expectations.

The Dow Jones (+ 0.31%) closed for the first time above the symbolic threshold of 29,000 points, the S&P 500 (+ 0.19%) also finished at a record and the Nasdaq appreciated by 0.08%.

The preliminary agreement signed Wednesday at the White House aims to rebalance trade between the two major economic powers.

Even if some observers have some doubts about the ability of the agreement to revive the US economy and the ability of both parties to reach a more comprehensive agreement, the simple fact that this truce reduces uncertainty, at least temporarily, is good for businesses and markets, says Art Hogan of National Holdings.

"The unpredictability of the trade war between the United States and China in the past two years has only eroded business confidence," he said.

Still on the commercial front, the US Congress is expected to approve definitively on Thursday morning the new free trade agreement linking the United States, Mexico and Canada (AEUMC).

Another encouraging news on Thursday: Morgan Stanley ended the 2019 earnings season of the big US banks on a positive note on Thursday, posting record profits and turnover. Its title jumped 6.00%.

Today's economic statistics also bode well.

Retail sales in the United States notably increased by 0.3% in December compared to the previous month, by 3.6% for the whole year.

Manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area (northeast of the United States) accelerated in January.

Weekly claims for unemployment benefits in the United States have fallen more than expected.

On the bond market, the rate on the 10-year debt of the United States rose to 1.809%, against 1.783% Wednesday at the close.

© 2020 AFP