New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange ended up sharply on Friday, at the end of a week when the market had a roller coaster ride, oscillating between fears of too high inflation in the United States and optimism on the health front.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.06% to 34,382.13 points.

the Nasdaq climbed 2.32% to 13,429.98 points and the broader S&P 500 index gained 1.49% to 4,173.81 points.

Over the week as a whole, the major indices lost ground, however: the Dow Jones fell by 1.14%, the Nasdaq by 2.34% and the S&P 500 by 1.39%.

This weekly drop is explained by three consecutive sessions in the red from Monday to Wednesday as signs of a sharp rise in prices in the United States have multiplied.

Highly anticipated by the market, the consumer price index (CPI), released on Wednesday by the Labor Department, thus showed a rise in consumer prices of 4.2% over one year and 0.6% over one month, exceeding market expectations.

This acceleration in the rate of inflation raises questions about a possible adjustment of the Federal Reserve's (Fed) ultra-accommodative monetary policy.

"The main question for the market, if prices continue to rise, is whether core inflation (without volatile energy and food prices, editor's note) is going to be temporary as assured by Fed, "said Quincy Krosby of Prudential Financial.

"Because the main concern is that it settles over time."

For now, the Fed has promised not to touch either its low key rates (between 0% and 0.25%) or its asset buyback program, which aim to support the recovery in economic activity.

Wall Street bounced back at the end of the week, however, driven in particular by optimism on the health front after the decision of the American health authorities to lift the obligation to wear masks indoors for people vaccinated against Covid-19.

"This suggests that more young people will be vaccinated, which is good for the economy," says Ms. Krosby.

Among the values ​​of the day, Disney, a member of the Dow Jones, fell 2.60%.

Disney +, the entertainment giant's streaming platform, posted quarterly growth in subscriber numbers on Thursday that Wall Street considered disappointing.

Airbnb took 4.01%.

The private rental housing platform suffered a net loss of $ 1.2 billion between January and March, but was confident of a return to growth for the travel industry.

Cryptocurrency exchange site Coinbase, which entered Wall Street in April, fell 2.54% despite a jump in first quarter revenue and net income from the previous quarter.

Doordash jumped 22.15%.

The meal delivery service exceeded analysts' expectations and raised its forecast for the year.

On the bond market, the 10-year rate on US debt fell to 1.63%, against 1.66% the night before.

© 2021 AFP