It was a disappointing session on Wall Street, where after a hesitant opening, the indices were soon on their way up, with +0.7% for the Dow Jones, +0.5% for the S&P500 and +0.4% for the Nasdaq Composite.

But the pressure on interest rates got the better of these bullish impulses, with the 10-year yield rebounding by five basis points to a level close to the five-month highs reached on Tuesday, and the '2-year' once again approaching 5.00%.

As a result, the indices closed lower, or at the day's low, with the Dow Jones barely surviving (+0.06% to 37.775), while the S&P500 gave up -0.22% (to 5,011) and the Nasdaq Composite lost -0.52% (to 15,601).

The day's economic data fuelled fears that rates will remain high for longer than previously hoped (less than 20% of investors still believe a rate cut is possible in June, and just over 40% in July).

The 'Philly Fed' index, calculated by the Philadelphia Fed, climbed 12 points to 15.5 in April, its third consecutive positive figure and its highest level since April 2022... whereas the consensus was for a slight decline.

On the other hand, the Conference Board's index of leading indicators, which is supposed to forecast the evolution of economic activity in the United States, fell again in March, dropping by 0.3% after a 0.2% rise in February.

The employers' organization spoke of a "fragile", even "recessionary" outlook for the US economy, which it considered penalized by rising household indebtedness, high interest rates and persistent inflation.

Meanwhile, sales of existing homes in the US fell by 4.3% between February and March, to an annualized, seasonally-adjusted 4.19 million.

The few signs of weakness in the US economy did not impress IMF boss Kristalina Georgieva, who revised upwards the growth outlook for the United States.

Shortly after the close, Netflix fell by -5% after the publication of its quarterly results: investors were dismayed by the announcement that the quarterly publication of new subscribers and revenue per subscriber will be suspended from the first quarter of 2025.

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