PARIS, Dec. 23 (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Thursday, supported by economic indicators broadly in line with expectations and an allaying of fears over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
In the first exchanges, the Dow Jones index gained 219 points, or 0.61%, to 35,972.89 points and the Standard & Poor’s 500, larger, rose 0.55% to 4,722.76 points.
The Nasdaq Composite takes 0.29%, or 45.50 points, to 15,567.395.
An hour before the opening of Wall Street, the US Department of Commerce announced that household consumer spending in the United States had grown at a pace in line with expectations in November after a jump in October. They came out up 0.6% after growth of 1.4%.
The “core PCE” price index, a measure of inflation favored by the Federal Reserve, for its part, increased by 4.7% against a consensus of 4.5%.
Unemployment claims in the United States remained stable during the week to December 18, at 205,000, a figure lower than the level before the pandemic, announced the Department of Labor.
On the health front, new data from South Africa suggests that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is 70% to 80% less dangerous than the Delta.
The various laboratories marketing vaccines against COVID-19 have also released preliminary data on their products which suggests that the three-injection vaccine schedule would significantly increase the immune response to Omicron.
At values, the Chinese e-commerce specialist JD.COM fell 8.1% after Tencent’s announcement to significantly reduce its stake in its capital, making Walmart now the main shareholder of the Chinese group.
On the upside, values linked to tourism are sought after: the casino operators Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts are advancing from 2% to 7%, while the airlines Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines take 1.7% respectively. and 1.2%
On the sectoral level, all the compartments of the S & P-500 are moving in the green, the most marked increases being for energy (+ 1.1%) and finance (+ 1.23%)
* For the values to follow, click on (Report Claude Chendjou, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot)