Around 14:00 GMT, the Dow Jones index gained 0.18%, the Nasdaq advanced 0.59% and the broader S&P 500 index rose 0.31%.

The day before, the Dow Jones had fallen 0.04% to 33,714.71 points. The tech-dominated Nasdaq lost 1.16% to 13,335.78 points and the broader S&P 500 index dropped 0.45% to 4,328.82 points.

Shortly before the opening, the Commerce Department released the status of durable goods orders that continued to rise above expectations in May, for the third consecutive month, thanks in particular to transportation equipment. They rose by 1.7% and 0.6% excluding the transport sector.

In Canada, inflation slowed in May to 3.4% year-on-year from 4.4% in April amid a lull in energy prices even if those of food remained rising sharply.

Over one month, prices rose by 0.4% in May, against 0.7% in April.

"All eyes are on the Canadian CPI index because it tells us what the Central Bank of Canada thinks," said HFE analysts, while the Canadian central bank is often the first of the major Western monetary institutions to initiate a movement in monetary policy.

To fight inflation, the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by 0.25 points in early June to 4.75%, three months after being the first major central bank to pause its hikes.

For the United States, the PCE index, the Fed's preferred measure to gauge inflation, will be published Friday for the month of May.

On the U.S. household sentiment side, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index for June turned out to be much better than expected at 109.7 points against 103.8 points expected and 102.5 points the month before.

Investors are also watching the forum organized by the European Central Bank (ECB) in Sintra, Portugal.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak on Wednesday.

The ECB's Christine Lagarde has already "sent a clear message that the rate hike cycle will continue," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.

The ECB will "continue" its rate hikes at its July monetary policy meeting because it is too early to "claim victory" in the fight against inflation in the euro zone, its president said on Tuesday.

Airlines are taking to the skies

In terms of values, the airline Delta took off (+1.50%) after raising its forecasts for the full year thanks to an increase in demand and a decline in fuel costs. This also benefited other airlines such as American Airlines (+2.77%) and United Airlines (+1.95%).

The travel sector followed suit, as did cruise lines with a jump of almost 4% for Carnival and 1.55% for Royal Caribbean.

Bad news on the side of the American manufacturer of electric pickups Lordstown Motors which finally declared bankruptcy while suing the Taiwanese Foxconn to whom it accuses of not having kept its promises of commercial and financial partnership.

The title of the group created in 2018 collapsed by 44% and was worth only $ 1.53.

Pharmacy chain Walgreens fell 9.94% after lowering its earnings forecast due to lower consumer demand for Covid tests and vaccines.

In the bond market, yields on 10-year bills were stable at 3.72%.

© 2023 AFP