Wall Street climbed slightly in mid-session on Friday, driven by a strong financial sector after the reassuring annual results of large banks and equating US indicators in a half-tone: the Dow Jones was taking 0.07% and NASDAQ 0, 61%.
By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average star index advanced 13.14 points to 19,904.14 points and the NASDAQ, dominated by technological 33.81 points to 5581.29 points. The S & P 500 index increased by 5.93 points, or 0.26%, to 2276.37 points. In Toronto, the TSX gained 87.44 points, or 0.57%, at 15,505.60 points.
The publication of the results of three major US banks was particularly expected as they kick off the results season and the pulse of a sector that has risen sharply since the election of Donald Trump on November 8.
"In the investor appeals that followed, bank executives - JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo - were rather optimistic for the years to come," said Karl Haeling of Landesbank Baden-Württenberg.
In detail, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, which is a member of the Dow Jones, both reported annual earnings in 2016 above analyst expectations, boosted by a very good fourth quarter and their stocks rose by 0, 92% to 23.13 dollars and 0.82% to 86.95 dollars.
Wells Fargo, whose profits were affected by the business of fictitious accounts created in the name but without the knowledge of its clients, managed to take 2.42% to 55.82 dollars. On the indicators front, retail sales in December, a crucial month for US consumption, rose, but less than forecast by analysts.
"The dynamism of vehicle sales has been erased by the weakness of certain categories of leisure," explained Michael Gapen of Barclays in a note to his customers.
The morale of US households fell slightly in January and was not as good as expected, according to the University of Michigan's first estimate.
Producer prices, which have an influence on inflation, rose as expected in December and inventories of manufacturing and distribution firms rose 0.7% in November. After a good start, Wall Street seemed to slow down a little, with the NASDAQ remaining at a record level but the S & P500 and the Dow Jones erasing some gains.
"I think it's partly because we're approaching a three-day weekend and investors are wait-and-see," Haeling said. The US markets will be closed on Monday, this day being a holiday in the United States to celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King.
Among other values, online radio Pandora Media jumped 6.96% to 12.84 dollars. It announced on Thursday evening a 7% reduction in its workforce in the United States (excluding its subsidiary Ticketfly) and indicated that it expected to exceed its forecasts of turnover and operating profit in the fourth quarter.
The oil group Anadarko, which announced Thursday evening the sale for $ 2.3 billion of assets in the oil and gas production basin of Eagle Ford, Texas, its competitor Sanchez Energy and the Investment company Blackstone, conceded 0.24% to 71.32 dollars.
The BlackRock investment fund, whose profit in the last quarter exceeded the expectations of analysts took 0.89% to 381.66 dollars.
The bond market fell, yielding 10-year Treasury bills rising to 2.410% against 2.358% Thursday night and the 30-year bonds to 3.008%, against 2.961% previously.
