NEW YORK, New York – Wall Street roared on Wednesday with all the major indices making solid ground.

Optimism about the re-awakening of the U.S,. economy after spending around two months in hibernation encouraged investors.

The U.S. dollar fell for a seventh consecutive day.

“There is growing confidence the U.S. economy can safely re-open, much as other economies such as China and Italy have successfully done,” David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York told Reuters news agency Wednesday. “Risk appetite for equities has been helped by optimism in the economy, as well as investors having few other alternatives.”

At the close of trading Wednesday the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead 527.24 points, or 2.05%, at 26,269.89.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 added 42.05 points, or 1.36%, to 3,122.87.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 74.54 points, or 0.78%, to 9,682.91.

The euro continued its rebound, closing out the New York session on Wednesday around 1.1234. The British pound was in demand at 1.2577. The Swiss franc inched up to 0.9614.

The Canadian dollar rose to 1.3495. The Australian and New Zealand dollars continued their rallies, rising to 0.6021 and 0.6421 respectively.

Overseas share markets saw the FTSE 100 in London strengthen by 2.61%. The German Dax rose 3.88%, while in Paris the CAC 40 climbed 2.36%.

On Asian markets, the Australian All Ordinaries led the way, gaining 104.80 points or 1.76% to 6,064.90.

The Hong Kong market rallied with the benchmark index the Hang Seng rising 329.68 points or 1.37% to 24,325.62.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 288.15 points or 1.29% to 22,613.76.

China’s Shanghai Composite lagged, gaining just 1.97 points or 0.07% to 2,923.37.