US durable goods orders and Ifo index fall

Economic data on Wednesday were weak.

In the US, durable goods orders fell 5.7 percent in March after having risen 4.3 percent in February. Excluding transportation equipment, orders fell 1.4 percent in March after falling 1.7 percent the prior month.

Somewhat more encouragingly, orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 0.2 percent.

In Germany, Ifo's business climate index fell to 104.4 in April from 106.7 in March, its second consecutive decline.

In the UK, mortgage approvals were 1.2 percent lower in March compared to a year ago as net mortgage lending shrank by 328 million pounds last month and retail sales fell in April.

Despite the weak economic data, markets were mostly steady on Wednesday. Copper rebounded 2 percent, its first gain in four days after falling into a bear market on April 19. Gold rose 1 percent and European stocks rallied for a fourth day.