Wall Street's "3 Witches" session lived up to all its promises, with the US indices finishing May at the zenith, with high scores (from +5.6% to +9.5% compared to April 19), after a string of absolute records. And to top it all off, the Dow Jones finished above 40,000 (+0.3% to 40,003) thanks to a providential last-minute boost of +25 points.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed towards 16.700 at the opening (+0.2%), but lost momentum by mid-day, ending the day down -0.1% at 16.686: a welcome consolation, however, with a monthly gain close to +10% (this was the case at 16.725 around 4:30 p.m.), the most spectacular since May...2000. The day's most active stocks were Netflix +1.7%, Tesla +1.5%, Alphabet +1.1%, Nvidia -2%, Western Digital -2.7%, Illumina -3%.

But a special mention goes to the S&P500 (+0.1%), which climbed above 5,300 (to 5,303) and has risen 11 out of 12 sessions in May... and four out of five this week. Over the past month, the S&P will have gained 6.8%, again the best May vintage in 24 years.

And last but not least, the VIX associated with the S&P500 fell below the 12 threshold (down -3.6% to 11.95). Whether excessive appetite for risk or excessive complacency, current VIX levels appear to be completely disconnected from interest rate conditions and the early signs of an economic slowdown in the USA.

On the bond front, the 10-year yield climbed +5 basis points to 4.425%, after falling to 4.32% on Thursday, its lowest level for over a month, although the weekly score is still respectable at -7.5 basis points since May 10.

On the US "stats" front, the leading indicators index fell more sharply than expected, by -0.6% to 101.8, according to the Conference Board, which saw this as a sign of a slowdown in the economy, with the deterioration in consumer morale, weak business orders and a fall in building permits, as well as the stock market correction in April.

Note that next week will be marked by Nvidia's quarterly results. Analysts are expecting better-than-expected performances from the processor manufacturer and an increase in its annual targets, as is customary for the Californian group.

Outside the fixed-income and equity markets, Friday's most striking event was silver's confirmed breakout above $29.3 (+3.5% to $30.70, a ten-year record) and gold's return above $2,400 (to $2,410), despite the deterioration in rates and the dollar's strengthening towards 1.0850/E.

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