The Dow Jones ended up 0.47%, the Nasdaq index gained 1.28% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.99%.

Nasdaq and S&P 500 ended at a closing high of more than nine months.

After starting in dispersed order and within tight margins, the indices went resolutely in the green in the second half of the session.

For Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers, the impetus was given by the report of the professional federation ISM. More than the further contraction in manufacturing activity in May in the United States, investors took note of the sharp decline in prices paid, to the lowest in five months.

"It's just a number, but the market wants good news from the inflation front," the analyst said.

This indicator was part of a context of serenity found after the vote, Wednesday evening in the House of Representatives, the text suspending the debt ceiling, which must, subject to adoption in the Senate, remove the specter of a default of the United States.

This imminent resolution has caused bond yields to slide again. The return of confidence in US Treasuries is pushing up their prices, which move in opposite directions to their yields.

The yield on 10-year US government bonds stood at 3.60%, compared to 3.64% the previous day at the close.

The ADP report could have tarnished the picture, as it reported 278,000 jobs added in April, significantly more than the 180,000 expected, signaling that the labor market remains tight and potentially a source of price overheating. But ADP said average wage growth had decelerated from March.

This new snapshot of the job market, which testifies to a still strong economy, was also put into perspective by a new public outing by a member of the US central bank (Fed), Philadelphia President Patrick Harker, in favour of a monetary status quo at the meeting on 13th and 14th June.

After counting on June, then July, traders are now betting on an increase in September after two months without change.

On the stock market, the computer manufacturer Dell (+1.45%) surprised by publishing, in the middle of the session, its quarterly results, above expectations and showing an improvement in its margins, which pleased Wall Street.

The big names in AI resumed their irresistible rise, after some profit-taking on Wednesday, such as Nvidia (+5.82%), Amazon (+1.82%), Microsoft (+1.28%) or Meta (+2.98%), whose CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, presented a new model of virtual reality headset, called Quest 3.

© 2023 AFP