The New York Stock Exchange closed higher Friday the Dow Jones gained 0.64% and the Nasdaq 0.42%.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro rebounded on Friday against the greenback after falling the day before to its lowest level since April 30, 2009, sealed by the revaluation of the Greek public deficit and the deteriorating Greece's financial rating by Moody's. The euro is worth 1.3370 dollars (1.11%).

On the front macro?nomique, the Commerce Department reported a decline of 1.3% of controls after a revised 1.1% growth for February. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast an average increase of 0.3% in March after the 0.9% originally announced for February.

Sales of new homes rebounded strongly, more so than expected in March in the U.S., reaching their highest level in eight months in volume, buyers seeking to take advantage of tax benefits offered to them . According to figures released by the Commerce Department, sales rose 26.9%, its fastest pace since April 1963, at 411,000 units annually against 324,000 in February, ending four straight months of declines.

These encouraging figures on the macroeconomic level have overshadowed any doubts that still grasped investors launched after the formal request by Greece for financial support to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to cope with its huge budget deficit.

Salvo results

On the side of values, many companies have announced their quarterly after the close of Wall Street.

This is particularly the case of software giant Microsoft (-1.37% to 30.96 U.S. dollars) which has reported net earnings up 35% to over $ 4 billion for the third fiscal quarter offset a result slightly above expectations as its sales.Revenues increased 6% to 14.50 billion, driven notably by strong sales of the new operating system Windows 7, released in late October, which is a "growth engine".

Also note the numbers of chemist Eastman Chemical (5.96% to 71.12 dollars). The company announced $ 101 million profit in the first three months of the year against $ 2 million last year. Its turnover rose 39% to 1.56 billion dollars against 1.38 billion expected by the market.

The eagerly awaited American Express (2.74% to 48.05 dollars) has announced a profit of 885 million, nearly doubled in the first quarter. Net revenue, after interest expense, was also above expectations.It is 6.61 billion (+11%).

In the same area, the group specializes in credit cards Capital One (2.59% to 46.73 U.S. dollars) has announced a profit of 636.6 million dollars, against a loss of 172.3 million the year last. As for Amex, the results improved significantly thanks to a significant decline in credit provision.

In the technology sector, Amazon.com (-4.30% to 143.63 U.S. dollars) has announced a profit of 299 million (+68%) for a turnover up 46% to 7.13 billion dollars. Gross margin climbed to 5.5% against 5% last year. A note sales on the U.S. are up 22% to $ 1.6 billion.