US economic data on Wednesday were again mixed.
Durable goods orders rose 2.2 percent in February, boosted by orders for motor vehicles and parts, which jumped 3.6 percent, the biggest increase since the same month last year.
However, excluding transportation equipment, orders rose 0.2 percent in February, less than the 0.9 percent increase in January.
Also, orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft fell 1.3 percent.
Nevertheless, data for March suggest an acceleration in US economic growth. A flash reading of Markit's March composite PMI showed a rise to 55.8 from 54.1 in February after the services index rose to 55.5 from 53.3, more than offsetting a decline in the manufacturing index.
However, the new orders index fell to 54.6 in March, the lowest since October, from 56.6 last month.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, GfK's German consumer confidence index for April came out at 8.5, unchanged from March and a seven-year high.
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