New York (AFP)

Wall Street started the week on a good note, ending Monday on a solid rise, thanks to tech, as the specter of a contested presidential election in the United States recedes.

The financial center is also now preparing for the third quarter earnings season which begins on Tuesday with major banks, such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.

Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, rose 0.88% to 28,837.52 points, the highest since early September.

The Nasdaq, with strong technological coloring, jumped 2.56% to 11,876.25 points and the extended S&P 500 index appreciated 1.64% to 3,534.22 points.

"It seems that investors are less concerned about the possibility of a contested presidential election given the lead of Vice President Joe Biden in the polls," said Jack Ablin of Cresset.

"They are counting on a support plan after the elections in January, which is why the market had a good week last week and is continuing this momentum," noted the analyst.

The Nasdaq led the dance, pulled by Apple in particular.

The title of the apple company climbed 6.35% to 124.40 dollars on the eve of the likely announcement of a new iPhone equipped with 5G technology.

It was closely followed by Amazon (+ 4.75% to 3,442.93 dollars), on its way to approach its record at the beginning of September (3,500 dollars).

Amazon kicks off its big business day on Tuesday with the opening of its "Prime Day".

“Tuesday is a big day for Apple and Amazon with a lot of publicity and possibly sales growth,” said Jack Ablin.

- The "stay-at-home" actions -

In the wake of a rapidly growing technology sector, Alphabet (+ 3.56%), Tesla (+ 1.91%) and Facebook (+ 4.27%) were not left out.

For Adam Sarhan, analyst at 50 Park Investment, beyond the good shape of Apple, the rise in the Nasdaq index was also explained by that of groups offering services and products remotely while "we do not see the end of sanitary restrictions ".

"A lot of money is invested in the titles of groups called + stay-at-home + (+ stay at home +)", because they take advantage of social distancing measures, said the analyst.

“Most of these companies 'taking advantage of sanitary restrictions' are in the technology sector and most are in the Nasdaq, which is why the Nasdaq is doing so well,” he said.

Investors were also turning their eyes to the start of the quarterly earnings season.

Thirty companies were to publish it this week, starting with the country's major banks, a good barometer of the financial health of companies as the economy affected by the epidemic is slowly recovering.

JPMorgan (+ 1.24%) and Wells Fargo (+ 1.50%) started the week in the green.

"Wall Street is gearing up for another down quarter (...) but there should be less red ink in the accounts" than in the previous quarter, "which should signal improved profits over the next few quarters "said Sam Stovall, chief investment officer at CFRA Research.

The continuation of discussions on a new economic aid plan also continued to be at the center of the concerns of the markets, as the White House carried out yet another about-face on Sunday on the revival of the economy, this time urging Congress to vote on a mini-plan intended to urgently help SMEs in difficulty.

“The back-and-forth over a new stimulus bill has been the main driver of the markets lately,” said Art Hogan of National Holdings Corporation.

The bond market remained closed observing the Columbus Day holiday.

© 2020 AFP