New York (AFP)

The Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices set new records Tuesday on Wall Street after a reassuring indicator on US consumer confidence and ahead of a much-awaited report on employment and the unemployment rate.

After already hitting closing highs on Monday, the technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.19% to 14,528.33 points and the extended S&P 500 index gained 0.03% to 4,291.80 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gleaned 0.03% to 34,292.29 points.

"The US stock market ended the day slightly higher, making marginal gains to extend its momentum at the end of the second quarter, which allowed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to reach new highs," summarize analysts at Charles Schwab .

The market "spent most of the session in a narrow price range as investors continued to assess uncertainties over monetary policies around the world and fears over the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in the face of signs of a strong economic recovery and recent progress around the infrastructure investment plan "wanted by Joe Biden, they add.

Among the good economic news, American consumer confidence improved markedly in June to the point of reaching its highest level since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, according to the Conference Board index released on Tuesday.

The index stood at 127.3 points, against 120 in May (revised up), above analysts' forecasts, who were expecting 120 points.

The market is now gearing up for the release of the Department of Labor's monthly report on US employment and unemployment rate.

Among the values ​​of the day, US banks Morgan Stanley (+ 3.35%) and Goldman Sachs (+ 1.06%) rose after announcing Monday that they would raise their dividends following the green light from the Fed, which lifted several restrictions imposed at the start of the health crisis.

JPMorgan Chase (-0.12%), Citigroup (-2.56%), Wells Fargo (-2.18%) and Bank of America (-1.61%) on the other hand ended in decline.

Boeing fell 1.75% despite an order for 200 models of its 737 MAX placed by the airline company United Airlines (-0.65%).

Facebook (-1.05%) fell after crossing the $ 1,000 billion market capitalization threshold for the first time the day before.

A US judge inflicted a setback on the country's authorities who accused the social network of anti-competitive practices by rejecting complaints filed at the end of 2020 on Monday.

In the bond market, the 10-year rate on US debt was stable at 1.47%.

© 2021 AFP