New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange ended sharply higher Monday, regaining some of the heavy losses cashed Friday in a market still closely monitoring the spread of coronavirus appeared in China.

Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gained 0.51% to finish at 28,399.81 points.

The Nasdaq, boosted by the jump of almost 20% of the electric car manufacturer Tesla, appreciated by 1.34% to close at 9,273.40 points.

The S&P 500 index, which represents the 500 largest companies on Wall Street, gained 0.73% to 3,248.92 points.

Like the Dow Jones, which had plunged 2.09%, the indices had suffered greatly on Friday from growing concerns around the epidemic and its repercussions on the growth of China, the world's second largest economy.

The virus remained at the center of attention of brokers on Monday, especially after the fall of more than 7% of the main Chinese indices after the return of ten days of interruption on the occasion of the Lunar New Year. The markets of Shanghai and Shenzhen had been closed since January 24, the day after the confinement of the city of Wuhan, home of the new coronavirus. At the last assessment, the viral disease had left 372 dead and contaminated more than 17,000 people.

But "market participants thought the slide could have been much more significant," said Adam Sarhan, portfolio manager for 50 Park Investment.

In addition, the Chinese Central Bank has, in the hope of reassuring the markets, injected 1,200 billion yuan (156 billion euros) of liquidity, underlines the specialist.

"In the very short term, the massive intervention of any central bank is generally welcomed by investors," he said.

Apple, which announced on Saturday that all of its stores in mainland China will be closed until February 9, fell 0.27%.

Biotech Gilead, which said on Friday that it was working with Chinese authorities to set up a clinical trial to determine if one of its drugs could treat the virus, jumped 5.00%.

Wall Street brokers were also encouraged on Monday by an ISM index showing that activity in the manufacturing sector in the United States started to rise again in January, for the first time since July.

Investors also continued to look into the earnings season, Alphabet (+ 2.40%), the parent company of Google, revealing its own after the close on Monday. With a slightly disappointing turnover, the title plunged by more than 4% in electronic exchanges after market.

Market participants also kept an eye on Monday in the start in Iowa of the Democratic primaries for the presidential election in November.

"If a candidate who investors think is a drag on the markets wins, that could be another concern," said JJ Kinahan of TD Ameritrade.

On the bond market, the 10-year rate on the American debt rose a little, moving towards 9:45 p.m. GMT at 1.524% against 1.507% on Friday at the close.

Among other values, Tesla's share jumped almost 20% to reach a record at $ 780, taking advantage of the good health of its joint factory with Panasonic, where the Japanese group manufactures batteries.

The title of the manufacturer of high-end vehicles has climbed 86.5% since the beginning of the year and 336% since June.

© 2020 AFP