New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange finished slightly higher on Tuesday, showing moderate optimism about a possible compromise between elected Democrats and Republicans on new economic aid measures in the United States.

Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gained 0.40% to 28,308.79 points.

The highly technological Nasdaq rose 0.33% to 11,516.49 points and the extended S&P 500 index rose 0.47% to 3,443.12 points.

If they finished well in the green, the major New York indices lost part of their gains in the second half of the session as confirmation of an agreement in Congress was slow in coming.

“For four or five sessions, the market has been consolidating while waiting for more clarity,” notes Peter Hanks of DailyFX.

"The hope around a stimulus plan seems to be the main factor for the market", continues the expert.

Investors still anticipated Tuesday the announcement of a compromise before the end of the day on additional economic aid for American businesses and households.

The Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, in charge of the negotiations, was optimistic, indicating that, despite some subjects still under discussion, the text was being drafted.

Ms Pelosi had set a 48-hour ultimatum on Sunday to reach a compromise.

The big names in the technology sector, for their part, displayed unfailing solidity, barely affected by the announcement of the US government and a dozen states of legal proceedings against Google for abuse of a dominant position.

The title of Alphabet, the parent company of Google and YouTube, rose 1.37%.

Facebook's gained 2.36% and Apple's gained 1.32%.

"As long as there is no fine of a considerable amount (in the United States, note) against the companies of the" Big Tech ", a concrete change in the way they act or a dismantling, these firms will be able to resist such announcements, ”Judge Hanks.

Among the other values ​​of the day, the computer giant IBM fell 6.49% after seeing its turnover decline for the third consecutive quarter.

Consumer goods group Procter & Gamble (P&G), for its part, continued to benefit from increased demand for cleaning products since the start of the pandemic and raised its annual forecast.

Its stock took 0.40%.

Defense group Lockheed Martin (-3.00%) also raised its annual forecast after a strong third quarter, buoyed during the pandemic by continued sales to the government of its F-35 fighter jets.

The real estate data released on Tuesday were encouraging: housing starts in the United States rebounded in September, registering an increase of 1.9%, after declining in August.

© 2020 AFP