US open: Mixed start to trading following jobless data
Wall Street trading began on a mixed note on Thursday as market participants thumbed over some key jobs data and more earnings from some major US banks.
As of 1510 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.03% at 23,263.35 and the S&P 500 was 0.44% weaker at 2,771.14, while the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.31% firmer at 8,419.42.
The Dow opened 241.00 points lower on Thursday after seeing out the previous session in the red as concerns about how long the coronavirus lockdown will last and what its after-effects may 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 follows 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 but it was not enough to outdo the jobless data.
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. You know, there's also death involved in keeping [the economy] closed," he said. "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 9-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.
BlackRock said assets under management had tumbled below $7trn as a result of the market turmoil.