The Dow Jones gained 0.06% to 33,999.04 points, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index gained 0.21% to 12,965.34 points and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.24 %, 4,283.74 points.

Starting in the red at the start of the session, the indices managed to end in the green, without euphoria, almost all the values ​​of the Dow Jones evolving in a range below 1%.

Investors were favorably influenced by two new positive surprises in the macroeconomic sphere, with new weekly jobless claims significantly below expectations, and the industrial activity index for the Philadelphia region (northeast), positive in August when economists were anticipating a third negative month in a row.

These encouraging figures are in line with industrial production and retail sales which, earlier this week, also rained.

They "leave the possibility to the Fed (American central bank) to continue its proactive tightening until the end of the year", argued, in a note, Edward Moya, of Oanda.

In an interview published Thursday by the Wall Street Journal, the chairman of the Fed's office in St. Louis, Missouri, James Bullard, known for his tough stance on monetary policy, said he was in favor of a new 0.75 percentage point increase in the key rate at the next meeting in September.

The macroeconomic picture was somewhat tarnished by home resales, which followed a sixth consecutive month of decline in July.

According to Lawrence Yun, of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), "we are witnessing a recession in the American real estate market".

After four hesitant sessions, the S&P 500 is almost at the same level as Friday.

"Sometimes when the market has had a good run, which has been the case for six weeks, it's not a tragedy if we have sessions, or even weeks, in sawtooth, and that's what is happening this week," Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management said.

“Equities will probably look for direction during the rest of the summer,” even estimated Edward Moya.

The session was led by the IT infrastructure and components sector, thanks to Cisco (+5.81% to 49.37 dollars), specialist in networks, remote computing (cloud) and cybersecurity, boosted by the publication, Wednesday after market, of results above expectations.

Another catalyst, the American specialist in semiconductors Wolfspeed (+31.86% to 112.94 dollars), whose results exceeded forecasts.

Sector heavyweights, from Qualcomm (+1.92%) to Micron (+2.21%), took the aspiration, even if the industry expects a slowdown in the coming months, due to a drop in demand for electronic devices.

Another family at the party, the oil companies, hoisted by American demand and the rebound in black gold prices, such as ExxonMobil (+2.36%), ConocoPhillips (+3.47%) and Marathon Oil (+5, 08%).

Among the few other values ​​hailed by investors, there was also Tapestry (+ 1.24% to 37.57 dollars), the holding company which brings together the ready-to-wear brands Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, whose quarterly profit came out very slightly above forecast.

The cosmetics group Estée Lauder (+ 1.84% to 281.62 dollars) capitalized on results above expectations, which prevailed, in the eyes of Wall Street, on its forecasts deemed disappointing for its entire financial year. .

The department store chain Kohl's was sanctioned (-7.72% to 31.33 dollars), after having cut its sales forecasts (now expected to fall) and margins on its entire financial year 2022 (which ends at the end of January).

The days go by and are not alike for the "same stocks", these actions propelled by enthusiastic small investors, often unrelated to the fundamentals of listed companies.

After rising 135% in just over a week, homewares chain Bed Bath & Beyond dropped nearly 20% on Thursday.

The investor Ryan Cohen has, in fact, announced the sale of all his shares in the group, ie more than 10% of the capital.

© 2022 AFP