by Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended slightly higher on Thursday on the back of gains by big tech stocks, while the banking sector retreated, on the eve of the release of important data on the ‘inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.43%, or 141.43 points, to 32,859.03 points.

The broader S&P-500 gained 23.02 points, or 0.57%, to 4,050.83 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 87.24 points (0.73%) to 12,013.47 points.

Rebounding earlier this week, regional bank stocks fell after President Joe Biden’s administration proposed measures to strengthen the framework for mid-sized banks to mitigate the risks of a crisis. of the sector in the future.

Thus, the financials sector was the only major sector of the S&P-500 to end the session in the red, down 0.3%. The failure this month of two regional banks has sent shock waves through the sector and raised fears of a wider financial crisis.

The technology sector rose 1.1%, confirming its solid rise over the January-March period (around +20% one day to the end of the quarter) and contributing to the performance of the S&P-500.

Economic indicators supported the hypothesis of a less aggressive Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy, as weekly jobless claims in the United States rose more than expected and gross domestic product (GDP) growth ) US came out weaker in the final reading than in the preliminary reading (2.6% against 2.7%).

Investors are waiting for the monthly consumer survey in the United States, which is due to be released on Friday, to try to determine the direction that the Fed could take in its rate hike campaign. Previous data had shown a sharp acceleration in consumer spending in January.

( Jean Terzian)

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