US close: Markets finish higher even after jobless data
Wall Street stocks finished in the green on Thursday, even as millions more Americans filed for unemployment amid the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, with investors digesting another round of earnings from some major US banks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.14% at 23,537.68, the S&P 500 was 0.58% firmer at 2,799.55, and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 1.66% at 8,532.36.
At the open, the Dow had lost 241 points after seeing out the previous session in the red, as concerns about how long the coronavirus lockdown will last and what its after-effects could be, as well as some disappointing data and earnings, weighed on sentiment.
Thursday's main focus was the Labor Department's all-important initial jobless claims data, which saw weekly US jobless claims continue to surge, in effect wiping out the gains in employment since the last financial crisis.
According to the Department of Labor, over the week ending on 11 April, initial jobless claims fell by 1.37m to hit 5.24m.
That number followed a total of 16.0m over the previous three prints.
Sentiment did get a slight boost as the daily number of new Covid-19 cases in the US seemingly slowed down somewhat over recent days, however.
Elsewhere, Donald Trump lobbied for the gradual reopening of certain parts of the US economy on Wednesday evening, stating that there were also public health costs associated with keeping the nation in lockdown - such as lost income and benefit coverage.
"There has to be a balance,” the president said.
“You know, there's also death involved in keeping [the economy] closed.
“We have to get back to work.”
Also on the macro front, a key regional manufacturing sector gauge plummeted in April as factories were shuttered in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector index fell from a reading of -12.7 for March to -56.6 in April, plumbing its lowest reading since July 1980.
Lastly, US housing starts fell more than expected in March, down 22.3% to a one-year low of 1.21m units.
Building permits, an indicator of future starts, were also down but the decline was not as steep as expected at 6.8%, to a nine-month low of 1.35m.
In corporate news, Morgan Stanley revealed profits had fallen by almost 30% in the first quarter as the Wall Street investment bank suffered from the economic effects of the Covid-19 emergency, while Bank of New York Mellon said profits rose as market volatility amid the pandemic had boosted fee revenues.
Shares in Morgan Stanley were down 0.1%, while Bank of New York Mellon added 4.27%.
BlackRock, meanwhile, said its assets under management had tumbled below $7trn as a result of the market turmoil.
Its stock ended the day up 3.54%.
Dow Jones - Risers
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $298.43 5.95%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $60.79 3.26%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $177.04 3.00%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $132.28 2.77%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $113.22 1.52%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $86.30 1.48%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $149.67 1.36%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $57.66 1.28%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $83.00 1.13%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $179.50 0.93%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Boeing Co. (BA) $134.24 -8.04%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $87.33 -3.81%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $39.15 -3.29%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $79.99 -3.03%
American Express Co. (AXP) $81.35 -2.91%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $115.73 -2.49%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $99.79 -2.31%
Visa Inc. (V) $162.42 -2.13%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $102.02 -1.31%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $47.10 -1.07%
S&P 500 - Risers
Anthem Inc (ANTM) $271.84 8.53%
CIGNA Corp. (CI) $195.35 6.98%
Humana Inc. (HUM) $377.31 6.72%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $89.61 6.48%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $298.43 5.95%
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) $96.00 5.56%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $72.85 5.55%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $539.93 5.52%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $105.84 5.43%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $95.66 5.18%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Macerich Co (MAC) $6.52 -15.43%
Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG) $53.09 -13.26%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $8.48 -12.67%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $28.21 -11.46%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $12.20 -10.36%
Regency Centers Corp. (REG) $37.07 -10.26%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.07 -9.93%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $21.95 -8.47%
Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $36.52 -8.45%
Hess Corp. (HES) $32.54 -8.13%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $47.50 6.50%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $89.61 6.48%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $539.93 5.52%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $95.66 5.18%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $294.70 4.94%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $2,408.19 4.36%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $29.23 4.21%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $230.90 4.10%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $612.71 4.09%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $118.10 4.04%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.07 -9.93%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $58.22 -3.86%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $41.08 -3.68%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $142.58 -2.39%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $39.08 -2.18%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $45.53 -1.94%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $180.34 -1.90%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $63.77 -1.73%
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $87.19 -1.55%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $77.56 -1.29%