New York (AFP)

Wall Street was backing out on Wednesday, weighed down by the surprise drop in retail sales in the United States in September and uncertainty over the Brexit deal.

Its flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 0.12% to 26.993.50 points, around 1400 GMT.

The Nasdaq, with strong technological coloration, yielded 0.36%, at 8188.99 points, and the expanded index S & P 500 dropped 0.20%, to 2,989.81 points.

The New York Stock Exchange ended in the green Tuesday, driven by several strong quarterly results, including those of the US bank JPMorgan Chase: the Dow Jones had increased 0.89% and the Nasdaq had climbed 1.24%.

Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo also presented their quarterly health check on Wednesday, as did pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and health insurer UnitedHealth, members of the Dow Jones.

These results, solid overall, had allowed the New York place to finish in the green.

On Wednesday, Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced a plunge in its earnings in the third quarter but has nevertheless done better than expected.

Tuesday after the close of the stock market, United Continental, parent company of the airline United Airlines, raised its main annual financial goal.

But the market was dominated Wednesday early in the session by the unexpected decline in retail sales in the United States in September after six consecutive months of increased spending by US consumers.

In the context of a trade war with China, the retailers and restaurants sales index lost 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis. Analysts expected an increase of as much.

Financial players were also watching developments around Brexit closely on the eve of a crucial EU summit.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier warned on Wednesday that there are still "important issues to be resolved" before reaching an agreement with London.

On the bond market, the 10-year US debt rate stood at 1.758%, down from the previous day's close (1.771%).

© 2019 AFP