PARIS (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Tuesday with a Dow Jones and an S & P-500 at historic levels, the indices being supported by new information deemed reassuring about the impact of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, which could turn out to be less virulent than feared.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 220.72 points, or 0.6%, to 36,805.78 points, a record level, while the larger Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.40% to 4,815.97 points, also at an unprecedented peak.
The Nasdaq Composite takes 0.02%, or 2.47 points, to 15,835,271.
The values of transport and tourism are particularly sought after after statements by the World Health Organization (WHO) that new data suggests that the Omicron variant causes less severe symptoms than previous strains. Carnival and American Airlines notably gained 4% and 3.7%.
The sub-index of the air transport sector and that of the hotel and catering industry are up 2.45% and 1% respectively.
The big American banks, carried by anticipations of rate hikes this year from the Federal Reserve, are also in the green. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup take around 2%. The banking sector sub-index gained 2.27%.
Ford Motor (+ 4.2%) is benefiting from the announcement of its objective to almost double its production of F-150 Lightning electric pickups this year to 150,000 units.
On the downside, Tesla is down nearly 1%, the manufacturer being the subject of strong criticism after announcing the opening of a concession in Xinjiang, a Chinese region where Beijing is accused of carrying out a policy of repression and violating rights of the Muslim Uyghur minority.
The distributor of sports articles Foot Locker for its part gives up nearly 3%, penalized by a lowering of recommendation of JP Morgan.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)
Copyright © 2022 Thomson Reuters