The Dow Jones index gained 1.14% to 34,029.69 points, the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.99% to 12,166.27 points and the broader S&P 500 index, the highest since February, advanced 1.33% to 4,146.22 points.

On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department released the PPI producer price index for March, which showed wholesale prices fell 0.5 percent on the month.

This is their largest decline in three years, mainly due to a decline in energy prices. Analysts expected stable prices.

Year-on-year, wholesale prices are only up 2.7% against 4.9% in February. These figures come after the news that the consumer price index (CPI) has slowed over one year to 5% against 6% in February.

"There is certainly a bout of optimism that the end of the Fed's interest rate hike cycle is near," the US central bank told AFP.

"Inflation is on the downward slope," he added.

The prospect that the central bank may soon pause its rate hikes also stems from early signs of a slowdown in US activity. "bad news is good news for equities," said Edward Moya, an analyst at Oanda.

First, there were fears of a "mild" recession following the March mini-bank run, expressed by Fed economists on Wednesday in the minutes of the latest monetary policy.

And then, on Thursday, the Labor Department released weekly claims for unemployment benefits up from 11,000 to 239,000.

"With layoffs soaring, at their highest for a first quarter since 2005 (...), job creation is expected to fall to zero by the middle of the year," said Kieran Clancy, an economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

After the macro-economic data, investors will focus on Friday on the earnings season with the major banks that will be under scrutiny after the banking difficulties that occurred last month.

"If deposits in banks show erosion or if they communicate poorly on the subject, it is likely to hit hard," warned Karl Haeling.

On the stock market, a large majority of Dow Jones stocks climbed, from Visa (+2.05%) to McDonald's (+1.27%) via Disney (2.86%).

Nine of the eleven sectors in the S&P ended in the green, with the exception of real estate and utilities.

Delta Air Lines fell 1.10 percent to $33.37 after reporting another first-quarter loss. But the airline confirmed its targets for the year.

The mega-caps of the technology sector carried the Nasdaq like the giant of online distribution Amazon (+4.67%) while we expect Friday the figures of retail sales for March in the United States.

Apple gained 3.41%, Tesla 2.97%.

The motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson, which at the beginning of the session was down 4.36%, lost only 1.74% after the announced departure of its financial director hired by the toy manufacturer Hasbro (+2.61%).

Tupperware, which had collapsed 50% on Monday, recovered 18.18%. The legendary brand of conservation boxes, warned "have significant doubts about its ability to continue its activity" while its plastic boxes lose favor with consumers.

© 2023 AFP