New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange started higher on Thursday, with investors hoping the U.S. Congress would quickly announce an agreement on a $ 900 billion economic support plan.

At 3:00 p.m. GMT, the index of flagship stocks Dow Jones gained 0.44% and the technologically colored Nasdaq rose 0.60%.

The S&P 500 was up 0.46%.

The day before, during a mixed session, the Dow Jones had dropped 0.15% to 30,154.54 points.

The Nasdaq had appreciated by 0.50% to 12,658.18 points, a new record.

The broader S&P 500 index advanced 0.18% to 3,701.17 points.

"The market continues desperately to chase after the + stimulus + (economic support plan) and largely ignores everything else," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.

"Congress leaders seem to signal that they are determined to reach a compromise before the end of the week. But details are lacking on how they will achieve it," warns the expert.

The plan discussed involves around $ 900 billion in aid to US SMEs and households.

"While there is still no deal, Wall Street is riding on faith that it will happen soon," added analysts from Wells Fargo.

The announcement of strong new weekly jobless claims - 885,000 -, the highest in four months, did little to disturb investor momentum.

"Recent data show a deterioration in the labor market. Combined with federal aid which is coming to an end, the impact on income and expenditure will be substantial and will weigh on growth in the short term," he warned Rubeela Farooqi, from HFE.

If attention is focused on the potential plan to support the world's largest economy, the markets are also "optimistic on the progress of the deployment of anti-Covid vaccines in the world," said Schwab analysts.

A week after recommending the authorization of a first vaccine against Covid-19, the American health authority, the FDA, meets again Thursday to assess the remedy developed by the American company Moderna, with first injections expected as soon as possible. next week.

The stock of Moderna Laboratories rose 5.25% in the early morning, while Pfizer fell 1%.

Almost all sectors of the S&P 500 were in the green, with materials in the lead.

The Commerce Department released a good indicator of new housing starts in the United States.

They rose by 1.2% in November, a surprise increase which confirms the good health of the real estate sector fueled by almost zero interest rates.

Among the actions of the day, Twitter, in verve the day before, continued its race (+ 1.33%), Facebook was not left out (+ 1.61%) as was Tesla (+ 1%).

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