New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange retreated at the opening on Tuesday, investors paused after raising the Nasdaq to a record the day before and the S&P 500 at its level at the start of the year.

Around 1:45 p.m. GMT, its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, yielded 1.06% to 27,281.51 points.

The Nasdaq, with a strong technological coloring, lost 0.26% to 9,898.70 points.

The S&P 500, which represents the 500 largest companies on Wall Street, fell 0.87% to 3,204.34 points.

After a sudden collapse between the end of February and the end of March, the indices quickly recovered, each taking more than 40%. And this despite the multiplication of indicators showing the severe impact of the measures imposed to stem the Covid-19 pandemic on activity.

The World Bank again estimated on Monday that the world economy will contract by 5.2% this year.

The Economic Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research said that the United States entered a recession in February.

But market players focus mainly on the gradual recovery of the economy as deconfinement in the main economic powers and bet on the rebound in business activity.

However, points out Patrick O'Hare of Briefing, "no one should be really surprised" by the decline in the index Tuesday "since the market has only climbed since March 23".

"It will be interesting to see if this downturn at the opening is erased during the day, as were the previous downturns, or if the market allows itself one day without going up," added the expert. "The latter option is absolutely not guaranteed since the market knows very well that the main element of its progress, the Federal Reserve, begins a meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee on Tuesday."

Traders have indeed benefited greatly from the support provided by the American Central Bank, which has injected massive amounts of money into financial circuits since the start of the pandemic to ensure the proper functioning of the markets and facilitate corporate borrowing.

On the bond market, the 10-year rate on the American debt fell slightly, to 0.8137% against 0.8752% Monday at the close.

© 2020 AFP