New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply on Wednesday even though the United States did not yet know the name of its next president the day after a particularly close election, some results of which are already disputed by Donald Trump.

The flagship index of New York City, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose 1.34% to 27,847.66 points.

The Nasdaq, driven by the glowing form of US tech giants, climbed 3.85% to 11,590.78 points.

The S&P 500, which includes the 500 largest companies on Wall Street, rose 2.21% to 3,343.44 points.

After heavy losses last week, the indices were already well up Monday and Tuesday.

Despite several positive signals for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, who notably won the key state of Wisconsin, his election as President of the United States was not yet guaranteed Wednesday afternoon US time.

Donald Trump, for his part, launched a judicial guerrilla war to demand a recount of the votes in Wisconsin and the suspension of the count in Pennsylvania.

At the same time, Republicans seemed in a good position to retain their majority in the Senate, while Democrats were poised to keep their lead in the House of Representatives.

"This means that we will be in a political impasse, which the market sees in a positive way," said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital.

"Whoever wins, he will not be able to fully implement his program," adds the expert.

The absence of a "blue wave" for the Democrats means in particular that it will be much more difficult for Mr. Biden, in the event of final victory, to pass his tax increases on the big companies and the big American fortunes as well as on stock market gains.

Moreover, if the Senate remains in the hands of the Republicans, the possibility of a new major aid plan for the economy is reduced, lowering the risk of inflation and therefore the interest rates.

The American Central Bank (Fed), anxious to support growth if politicians do not reach a compromise on budgetary measures, is not expected to raise its key rates anytime soon.

Even so, notes TD Ameritrade's Shawn Cruz, the VIX Index, which measures volatility on Wall Street and is dubbed the "fear index", has remained relatively high, around 30 points despite a plunge. by nearly 17% on Wednesday.

"Many questions remain unanswered whether it be on the level of new aid measures or the slowdown in the economy", observes Mr. Cruz.

© 2020 AFP