The Dow Jones closed down a small 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index gained 1.43% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.22%.

For Kim Forrest of Bokeh Capital Partners, the approach of a long holiday weekend (the market will be closed on Monday) thinned the ranks of traders on Friday, which weighed on Wall Street's ability to find a clear direction. .

In addition, Friday corresponded to the expiration of options, these financial products which make it possible to bet, upwards or downwards, on the evolution of shares and indices.

This "witches' day", according to the term used by traders, is traditionally a source of heightened volatility.

"It was a bit of a day for nothing," said Kim Forrest, "although it's always a good thing to finish up."

"The markets have gone down a lot, but not yet enough to call it a bottom, so we're taking a little technical break," said Karl Haeling of LBBW.

Over the week, the S&P 500 fell 5.79%.

"There's a lot to digest," he continued, "and it's quite confusing."

In one week, the New York market suffered a higher-than-expected price index last Friday, a sharp rate hike from the American central bank (Fed), and a wave of panic caused by the prospect of a possible recession.

Hopes for a strong technical rebound on Friday were also dampened by a series of disappointing indicators, which fueled the thesis of an ongoing slowdown in the US economy.

Industrial production only rose by 0.2% in May in the United States compared to April, less than the 0.5% expected by economists.

Another disappointment, the production capacity utilization rate increased only very modestly, to 79.0% (78.9% in April), against 79.3% expected.

The picture was further darkened by the Conference Board Institute survey, which revealed that 76% of the 750 bosses surveyed worldwide considered either that a recession was looming on the horizon, or that it was already effective. .

“Everyone is afraid of a recession next year, but it is possible that we are already in recession”, launched Karl Haeling, recalling that the gross domestic product (GDP) american had contracted in the first quarter and that the Atlanta office of the Fed had revised its growth rate forecast for the second quarter to 0%, against 0.9% so far.

In this anxious climate, bonds once again found favor with investors.

The yield on 10-year US government bonds, which moves opposite to their price, eased to 3.23% from 3.30%.

On the side, the software publisher Adobe was sanctioned (-1.18%, to 360.79 dollars), after a downward revision of its forecasts for lower turnover and net profit, in particular because the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the impact of the soaring dollar.

Biotech Seagen (+12.72% to 165.45 dollars) was sought after the Wall Street Journal reported a possible takeover by the American pharmaceutical company Merck (-0.32%).

The steelmaker US Steel (+1.58% to 19.89 dollars) benefited from forecasts, published Wednesday after the close, of profits well above analysts' expectations.

The group said rising steel prices were more than offsetting soaring energy costs.

Two days after filing for bankruptcy, the cosmetics group Revlon took off (+91.28% to 3.73 dollars) following the publication of an article in the daily Economic Times reporting the interest of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries for a possible takeover.

The WWE group, which manages the World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling circuit, fell (-3.64% to 62.51 dollars) after the announcement of the temporary withdrawal of its emblematic boss, Vince McMahon, subject to a investigating an affair with an employee.

The oil companies suffered the brunt of the slide in the price of black gold, from ExxonMobil (-5.77%) to Chevron (-4.57%).

© 2022 AFP