New York (AFP)
The major Wall Street indices set new records on Friday, concluding a week of increases in a market preparing for new support measures and wanting to be optimistic about the vaccination campaign in the United States.
The flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose 0.09% to 31,458.99 points.
The Nasdaq, with a strong technological coloring, rose 0.50% to 14,095.47 points and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.47% to 3,934.93 points.
From Monday to Friday, the Dow Jones appreciated by 0.9%, the Nasdaq by 1.7% and the S&P 500 by 1.2%.
"We know that (Joe) Biden will advance his plan to help the economy rather quickly," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services about the $ 1.9 trillion that the US president wants to release as quickly as possible to support homes and businesses hit by the economic crisis.
"We are also beginning to know that, little by little, Americans are being vaccinated, which is very satisfactory. Before the summer, a large majority of Americans who want it will be vaccinated," adds Mr. Volokhine.
On Thursday, Biden announced that the United States had purchased 200 million additional doses of Covid-19 vaccine - 100 million from Moderna (+ 0.2%) and 100 million from Pfizer (+ 0.8% ).
The progression of the New York Stock Exchange was, however, sporadic this week, the market not being driven by a major catalyst event.
"Once they have had their dose of hope, investors want to see results and growth", summarizes Mr. Volokhine.
Symbol of these expectations, the Walt Disney group, a prominent member of the Dow Jones, saw its share fall by 1.7% after publishing its quarterly results Thursday evening.
While the entertainment empire has been able to count on the impressive growth of its streaming services, including Disney +, its profits have been heavily affected by the impact of the pandemic and have fallen.
Among the other values of the day, the oil majors ExxonMobil (+ 0.6%), Chevron (+ 1.6%) and ConocoPhillips (+ 1.4%) rose, benefiting from the rise in black gold prices .
The three American giants, however, saw their rating lowered by a notch by the agency S&P Global Ratings, penalized, like the entire sector, by the boom in renewable energies, low margins and the volatility of oil prices. .
Among the indicators, US consumer confidence eroded in early February due to the drop in income among the poorest households, according to the preliminary estimate of the University of Michigan survey released on Friday.
Wall Street will remain closed on Monday for President's Day in the United States and will reopen Tuesday morning.
© 2021 AFP