People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID- 19, at an Arkansas Workforce Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, April 6,
Nick Oxford | Reuters
Stocks rose for a second day even after data showed another 4.4 million Americans filed for jobless claims last week amid coronavirus shutdowns. Still, major equity averages are on track for modest weekly losses due to a steep sell-off earlier this week triggered by an unprecedented oil rout. Here’s what’s happening:
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: 13 am: US issues new guidance for small business loans to make it harder for public companies to get funds : am: Energy stocks roar back as oil prices surge
Shares of energy companies rallied in a big way on Thursday alongside oil’s rebound. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, rose (%, or $ 4.) , to trade at $ . per barrel after crushing earlier in the week from a hit to demand driven by the coronavirus slowdown. Noble Energy and (Apache Corporation) (surged) % and %, respectively. Occidental Petroleum shot up more than 8% , Devon Energy soared more than (%, and) (Exxon Mobil) rose more than 5%. – Fitzgerald : am: Wall Street analysts see upside in stocks like Amazon ahead of earnings
- BMO upgraded Chipotle to market perform from underperform.
- Goldman Sachs raised its price target on Amazon to $ 2, (from $ 2, . Evercore ISI named Evercore Disney a top pick.
: 55 am: Stocks hit session highs, with Dow rising points
the major averages followed oil prices higher on Thursday, hitting a session high in mid-morning trading. The Dow traded 442 points higher while the S&P 823 and Nasdaq advanced more than 1% each. U.S. crude prices soared about %. – Imbert
: 38 am: New home sales hit lowest level since : 09 am: CSX shares rise after earnings beat
Shares of railroad giant CSX
gained more than 3% on Thursday after the company reported quarterly earnings that beat analyst expectations. CSX posted a profit of $ 1 per share, topping a Refinitiv estimate of 400 cents per share. CSX was among the best-performing stocks in the Dow Transports index, which rose more than 1.5%. – Imbert 9: (am: S&P) average gains since March low are much bigger than losses (The) (The S&P) ‘s rally from its late-March lows has happened in part because the index’s daily upside moves have been bigger than its downturns over the past month, data from Instinet shows. On average, the S&P 823 has averaged a gain of 3.6% since March versus an average loss of 2.1%. “While obvious, the simplicity should not outweigh the importance,” said Instinet’s Frank Cappelleri. “This kind [of] scenario is what helps bullish patterns succeed and bearish patterns fade away … which is what we’ve seen happen over the last month of trading.” – Imbert 9: am: Cooperman says capitalism will likely be changed forever (9:) am: Goldman raises Amazon target to Street high
Goldman Sachs has the new highest price target for Amazon on Wall Street . The bank’s analysts hiked their target to $ 2, 2013 per share, up from $ 2, . In a note to clients, the analysts said the market is not pricing in the increased demand across its major business units. The stock is up 1.9% in early trading. – Pound 9: 42 am: Stocks open slightly higher
Stocks rose a tad at the open as investors digested data showing jobless claims totaled 4.4 million last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed about (points, while the S&P) and the Nasdaq Composite traded about 0.4% higher. The major stock averages are still headed for weekly losses after a steep sell-off earlier this week on an unprecedented oil rout. – Li 9: am: Gap drops after warning it might run out of cash
Shares of Gap dropped 5% in premarket trading after t he apparel company warned it might not have enough cash for operations
as its stores remain temporarily shut because of the coronavirus pandemic . Gap said in a securities filing that it must take further actions to find liquidity over the next months, such as additional job cuts and new debt financing. It added that beginning this month, it stopped paying rent on its temporarily shuttered stores. The stock has tumbled (% this year – Li
8: 50 am: The US economy has now erased all job gains since the Great Recession
It took only five weeks for the US economy to wipe out all the job gains it added over the last (years.
Coronavirus-induced business closures throughout the US has fueled the number of Americans applying for state unemployment benefits. Last week, new jobless claims totaled 4. million, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Combined with the four prior jobless claims reports, the number of Americans who have filed for unemployment over the previous five weeks is . million. That number exceeds the . million jobs added to nonfarm payrolls since November , when the US economy began to add jobs back to the economy after the Great Recession. – Franck
(8:) am: 4.4 million Americans filed for jobless claims last week
Another 4. (million workers) filed state unemployment claims
in the week ended April 22, bringing the total number seeking benefits over the past five weeks to more than million. There was little reaction from stocks and bonds following the jobs report .— Li
(8:) am: Oil jumps again, adding to comeback from historic lows
Oil rose for a second session on Thursday, rebounding from an unprecedented rout. West Texas Intermediate Crude jumped . 6% to trade at $ per barrel. Brent crude . Traded $ 1. , or 7.6%, higher at $ 96 per barrel. On Monday, the WTI contract for May delivery plunged below zero to trade in negative territory for the first time in history .— Li )
7: am: Target sees ‘Cyber Monday’ -sized online sales boom
Target CEO Brian Cornell said Thursday the retailer has benefited from a surge in online shopping, but warned it will have lower profits this quarter due to higher costs. Cornell said the online trend has worked in the discount retailer’s favor, and it expects to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic having gained market share. Since its fiscal first quarter began Feb. 2, Target’s same-store sales have risen more than 7%. So far in April, comparable digital sales have increased by more than 427% from a year ago.
despite the strong comparable and digital sales, Target’s stock is down 5% in premarket trading.— Repko, Fitzgerald
7: 50 am: Another 4.3 million workers expected to have filed unemployment claims
7: 38 am: Stock futures flat ahead of weekly jobless claims
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