REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
- US equities climbed on Thursday after positive earnings reports and a rally in oil offset gloomy jobless claims data.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb, Peloton, and Lyft all bested quarterly estimates. Moderna further lifted investor sentiments, surging to record highs after announcing the FDA approved its coronavirus drug for a phase 2 study.
- WTI crude oil climbed as much as 11%, to $26.74 per barrel.
- About 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ended May 2, down from the previous week’s reading but bringing the seven-week total to more than 33 million.
- Watch major indexes update live here.
US stocks climbed on Thursday as better-than-expected earnings reports and a rally in oil drowned out bleak economic data.
Lyft, Peloton, and Bristol-Myers Squibb shares all surged after quarterly performances trounced analyst estimates. Moderna stock leaped as much as 16% in early trading to a record high after it announced the Food and Drug Administration cleared its coronavirus drug for a phase 2 trial.
Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET market open on Thursday:
- S&P 500: 2,889.00, up 1.4%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 23,953.06, up 1.2% (288 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 8,974.13, up 1.4%
West Texas Intermediate crude oil soared, trading as much as 11% higher, at $26.74 per barrel. Contracts for June delivery have more than doubled from late April lows as global demand slowly recovers and producers raise official selling prices. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, jumped 7%, to $31.84 per barrel.
Investor hopes were also lifted by news that US and China trade officials will meet as soon as next week. Tensions between the two economic superpowers flared earlier in the week after President Donald Trump alleged China intentionally spread the coronavirus. China state media fired back soon after, calling US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo “evil.”
But it wasn’t all good news. Jobless claims filed the week ended May 2 reached 3.2 million, down from the previous reading but still pushing the metric’s seven-week total above 33 million. The median economist estimate for weekly claims sat at roughly 3 million.
Thursday’s jobless claims release arrives before Friday’s official jobs report details how hard the coronavirus slammed the US labor market. Joblessness is expected to have reached historic highs through the month as virus lockdowns intensified and layoffs increased. Economists have mused the unemployment rate could spike to 20% for the first time in nearly a century.
Now read more markets coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
