New York (AFP)

The New York Stock Exchange opened sharply higher on Monday, digesting the good employment figures released on Friday and on the return of a three-day weekend for the US markets.

Around 2:00 p.m. GMT, the Dow Jones index advanced 0.87% to 33,441.99 points.

The Nasdaq climbed 1.01% to 13,616.05 points.

The S&P 500, which for the first time crossed the 4,000 point mark on Thursday, advanced 1.01% to 4,060.31 points.

Thursday, the S&P, which includes the 500 largest companies listed on Wall Street, had taken 1.18%.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.76% and the Dow Jones flagship index rose more modestly by 0.52%.

On Friday, official labor market figures for March showed 916,000 job creation, a seven-month high, and the unemployment rate fell to 6%.

"The stock market should continue to prance, finding fuel in the March jobs report released Friday when markets were closed," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

"The main point to take away from this employment report is that it indicates an economy which is growing with the reopening of the activity", continues the analyst underlining the strong rhythm of vaccination in the United States with an average of over 2.6 million daily injections over the past seven days, according to official figures.

For Schwab analysts, "the favorable employment data and the continued rise in vaccinations are boosting the markets and fueling high optimism on the outlook for economic growth but also on the results of companies".

In a weak market, while several European markets were closed on Monday, investors were watching for a week rich in economic information, starting with a speech by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday, which will take place the day after the publication of the minutes of the last monetary meeting of the Central Bank.

In stocks, Tesla climbed more than 5% after announcing it delivered more vehicles than expected in the first quarter.

Big tech names like Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and Google (Alphabet) climbed around 2%.

The bond rate on 10-year US debt was stable around 1.72%.

© 2021 AFP