New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange was virtually stable Tuesday at the start of the session in a market wondering about the high levels of indices and seeking to start again the day after a decline.

Around 3:00 p.m. GMT, the index of flagship stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, was up 0.02% to 31,015.26 points.

The Nasdaq, with strong technological coloring, rose by 0.20% to 13,062.28 points and the extended S&P 500 index appreciated by 0.04% to 3,801.12 points.

On Monday, Wall Street had finished in the red, marking a break after hitting records the week before.

For Briefing's Patrick O'Hare, the fact that the major New York indices continue to move at levels near their peaks "suggests that the market continues to be dominated by uptrends."

"This does not necessarily mean that it will maintain a vertical trajectory, but it implies that investors are ready to buy in the event of a decline, which limits losses", specifies the expert.

"Therefore, the market correction that many players anticipate could be more of a correction over time than a correction marked by falling prices, unless there is a strong jolt," he adds.

Investors continue to hope for a sharp pickup in economic growth in the second half of 2021 thanks to progress in coronavirus vaccination campaigns and fiscal stimulus measures.

Concerns remain palpable, however, as evidenced by the sharp rise in rates on US Treasuries, a sign of the risk aversion of many participants and the search for investments deemed safer.

The 10-year rate on US government bonds evolved Monday morning at 1.1649%, up 1.65% from the previous day.

It has climbed more than 27% since the start of the year.

Among the indicators, the morale of small businesses fell in December to the lowest since May, according to the monthly survey of the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) released Tuesday.

Among the values ​​of the day, the manufacturer General Motors (GM) climbed 5.64% after the announcement of the launch of BrighDrop, a subsidiary that will offer services for electric vehicles for logistics.

Walmart took 1.29%.

The American supermarket giant announced Monday, in partnership with the investment company Ribbit, the creation of a start-up specializing in financial technologies, or "fintech", which will offer its services to customers and employees of the company.

© 2021 AFP