New York (AFP)

Whatever unemployment at a still very high level and indicators at half mast, Wall Street traders welcome the gradual reopening of the economy and pushed the Nasdaq to record levels on Monday.

The highly technological index rose 1.13% to 9.924.75 points, erasing all the losses generated by the pandemic: its previous record dated February 19.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the leading Wall Street index, meanwhile gained 1.70% to close at 27,572.44 points.

The S&P 500, which represents the 500 largest companies on Wall Street, gained 1.20% to 3,232.39 points, occasionally returning to its level at the start of the year.

They have all taken more than 40% since mid-March, when the indices had collapsed suddenly in the face of the sudden advance of the Covid-19 in the country.

"The equity market is soaring because investors believe that we are at the start of a new economic cycle, that the recession has restarted growth even more" as it was beating a bit before the pandemic, says Maris Ogg, portfolio manager for Tower Bridge Advisors.

- Resumption in New York -

This stock market euphoria contrasts with the current situation in the United States, where unemployment remains at an extremely high level and where indicators have shown for several weeks that activity has been hit hard by the Covid-19 and the measures taken to halt its progress.

The economic cycles dating committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research announced Monday that the longest economic expansion in the history of the United States had abruptly ended in February.

In addition, the country is beset by major protests against racism and police brutality that led several cities to impose curfews last week.

But investors rarely pay attention to social unrest.

They focus mainly on the gradual resumption of activity in the United States, symbolized on Monday by the start of deconfinement in New York, at the center of the epidemic for several weeks.

Exactly 100 days after confirmation of the first case in the American economic capital, construction companies and factories in the American economic capital began to resume work.

The announcement on Friday of a surprise drop in the unemployment rate in May in the country, thanks to the first reopening of shops and restaurants in certain regions of the United States, had already suggested to investors that the recovery in employment could be faster than expected.

Businesses should see their activity start again. Those with the most to gain from a return to normal were up sharply on Monday, like the airlines United Airlines (+ 14.8%), American Airlines (+ 9.3%) or Delta (+8 , 2%).

The aircraft manufacturer Boeing also jumped (+ 12.20%), driving the Dow Jones of which it is one of the most important members.

In addition, notes Maris Ogg, the indices are rising because "we know that the Federal Reserve is there, and that the other central banks will hold up".

Investors 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.

They are now awaiting the end of a new meeting of the Fed's Monetary Policy Committee on Wednesday. They will be on the lookout for any clue about possible future decisions by the institution.

© 2020 AFP