According to final results at the close, the Dow Jones index concluded up 0.26% to 36,398.21 points.

The Nasdaq, with strong technological coloring, fell 0.56% to 15,781.72 points.

The S&P 500, blowing after two consecutive highs, fluctuated before dropping 0.10% to 4,786.35 points.

After the strong previous sessions, "investors remained cautiously optimistic about the rather positive news around the Omicron variant", summarized analysts at Wells Fargo.

The weak market strength on Tuesday reflected a year-end session "with simply a lack of interest," said Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors.

"The decline of the Nasdaq is not very convincing. More than half of my screen is green, the other is red. There is no dominant trend," observed the portfolio manager.

According to her, investors have already "made their judgment on Omicron and believe that its impact will not be significant on the economy."

"A study evaluated that the impact of the slowdown linked to the Delta variant had cost 1% to the American GDP, I think that for Omicron it will be much less", added Maris Ogg.

Between Christmas and New Year's Day, also noted Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital, "there are position adjustments for the year-end accounts which explain the divergent development of the indices."

The amplitude of the movements is also increased by the low volume of trade at this time of the year.

“I think it was just a break, not a change of heart,” added the analyst.

The shares of airlines, which have been roughed up since the appearance of the Omicron variant, have picked up the hair of the beast like Delta Airlines (+ 1.62%), American Airlines (+ 2.04%) or United Airlines (+ 1.55%).

Cruise lines remained on the decline like Norwegian Cruise (-1.04%) or Carnival (-0.24%).

Stocks of vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna fell more than 2%.

Apple fell 0.58% to $ 179.29, missing the moment investors watched when the iPhone maker will hit $ 3 trillion in capitalization.

For Apple to be the first company to reach this amount, its stock must trade at $ 182.86, for the same volume of shares.

Nasdaq heavyweights, Google (Alphabet) dropped 1.09% to $ 2,928.96, while Facebook (Meta) remained stable.

Seven of the eleven sectors of the S&P remained in the green, led by utilities (+ 0.93%), consumer products (+ 0.63%) and materials (+ 0.56%) .

Lagging behind were information technology (-0.59%) and communication services (-0.29%).

The distribution sector continued its momentum, confident about the dynamism of American consumption, like the Walmart discounter (+ 1.44%), Macy's department stores (+ 0.93%) or the chain Best Buy electronics (0.44%).

In the bond market, the yields on 10-year Treasury bills rose very slightly to 1.48%, against 1.47% the day before.

© 2021 AFP