The Dow Jones index yielded 0.60%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.93% and the S&P 500 0.72%, around 3:10 p.m. GMT.

After sharply declining retail sales in the United States in December, the Dow Jones fell 1.81% to 33,296.96 points on Wednesday, the Nasdaq index fell 1.24% to 10,957.01 points and the broader S&P 500 index by 1.56% to 3,928.86 points.

Retail sales, a good barometer of consumption in the United States which is the engine of growth, fell 1.1%, the largest decline in a year, pointing to a faster than expected slowdown in the economy. 'economy.

“Equities appear to be heading in the same downward direction as yesterday in early trading as fears of recession and central bank (Fed) rate hikes weigh on investor sentiment,” Patrick said. O’Hare of Briefing.com.

On Thursday, another index, in the real estate sector, added to the gloom.

Housing construction fell 1.4% in December over one month after already falling 1.8% the month before, a figure revised down sharply.

In addition, a rebound is hardly in sight since building permits, which gives an idea of ​​future starts, are also down 1.6%.

The labor market, on the other hand, is not yet showing any obvious signs of slowing down, despite announced workforce reductions in the tech sector.

Weekly jobless claims were lower last week at 190,000 (-15,000).

Paradoxically, this good news for the job market is less good news for investors, because a still buoyant labor market will not prompt the Fed to pause its rate hikes, which the market wants.

The day is also clouded by uncertainties regarding the debt ceiling reached on Thursday.

A new standoff is under way between Republicans and Democrats in Congress to raise the country's debt capacity.

As for values, the computer giant Microsoft lost 1.57% to 232.11 dollars at 2:50 p.m. GMT after announcing on Wednesday the elimination of 10,000 jobs, almost 5% of its workforce.

The latest in a series of big names in tech cutting into their payroll like Amazon, Facebook or Salesforce, Microsoft says it reacts to the changes in priority of its customers and to their "caution" in the face of recession risks.

Streaming leader Netflix, which is due to report earnings after the close, fell 2.50% to $318.17.

Amazon fell 1.28%, Disney 1.32% and Roku 1.39%.

Impacted by inflation which slowed purchases by its customers in the second quarter, Procter & Gamble (P&G), manufacturer of hygiene and care products, fell by almost 1%.

P&G posted revenue of $20.8 billion, down 1% from a year earlier.

However, this is slightly above analysts' forecasts.

This decline is explained by the drop in the volume of purchases, which fell by 6% as a whole, as consumers were put off by the increase of 10% on average in the prices of its products such as Gillette razors or Pampers nappies. .

In the bond market, yields on 10-year Treasury bills edged up to 3.39% from 3.36%.

© 2023 AFP