New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange advanced at the opening on Wednesday, visibly still resilient despite fears linked to the new coronavirus and its economic impact.

Around 3:00 p.m. GMT, its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.78% to 29,503.49 points.

The highly technological Nasdaq appreciated 0.40% to 9,677.82 points and the broad S&P 500 index gained 0.47% to 3,373.65 points.

Wall Street had finished close to balance Tuesday, after a session marked by the hearing of the head of the Federal Reserve in front of American parliamentarians: the Dow Jones had remained almost stable while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 had gained 0.11% and 0.17% respectively, breaking new records with a sixth session up in seven.

"The reasons for the rise this morning have striking similarities to the reasons that saw the futures market rise Tuesday before the opening," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.

The expert believes in particular that investors are reassured by the slowdown in the rate of spread of the epidemic of viral pneumonia that appeared in China.

The coronavirus, officially dubbed "Covid-19", has killed more than 1,100 people according to a latest report published on Wednesday, but the number of new cases is declining.

In their daily bulletin, the Chinese health authorities have indeed reported 2,015 new cases of contamination, down from Tuesday (2,478) and Monday (3,062).

Among the economic meetings, the head of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell was expected Wednesday for a second day of audition against the American Congress.

Powell praised the state of the US economy and adequate monetary policy before the House of Representatives on Tuesday. However, he once again drew the wrath of Donald Trump on Twitter, who is calling for a rate cut and accusing the Fed of slowing the growth of the world's largest economy.

The Fed chairman also spoke of the risks posed by the new coronavirus, saying that the epidemic "could cause disruption in China with repercussions on the rest of the world economy".

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin is scheduled to speak to the Senate finance committee to present the Trump administration's 2021 budget.

In addition, market players kept a distant eye on the American presidential campaign after the victory of the socialist Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

"The race will intensify in the coming months," warns Mr. O'Hare. "At the moment, the market is not acting as if the political horizon presents real reasons for concern," he adds.

On the bond market, the rate of the US 10-year debt increased, standing at 1.626% against 1.601% the day before at the close.

© 2020 AFP