A man wearing a mask walks by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 17, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City.
Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images
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9:30 am: Dow jumps 260 points at the open
Stocks opened Thursday’s session with solid gains as investors took the latest unemployment data in stride. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed about 260 points at the open, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained about 1.3% each. –Li
9:15 am: Zoom shares jump after company announces first acquisition
Zoom shares gained more than 3% during Thursday’s premarket trading after the company said it bought Keybase in an effort to shore up its security operations. The acquisition will add end-to-end encryption for the company’s video calls. Zoom shares have more than doubled this year on the heels of a spike in demand as people began working from home. But the company has also been criticized for privacy and security flaws. On April 1 the company outlined a plan for how it can fix its security issues, and Thursday’s acquisition is part of that plan. – Stevens
9:00 am: The worst of coronavirus crisis is likely past us, Boockvar says
Some investors are taking solace in the fact that the latest jobless claims number marks a decline from previous readings, which could signal that the worst of the coronavirus impact is behind us. “As awful these figures are, it is the least amount of claims since mid March as we’ve likely cycled through the worst of the forced shutdown,” said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. “We can now start analyzing the pace of reopenings, the level of business and what that new reality will look like.” Despite more than 3 million weekly jobless claims, Dow futures are up 300 points. –Li
8:32 am: Weekly jobless claims total 3.169 million
A total of 3.169 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 2, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected jobless claims to rise by 3.05 million. The latest number brought the seven-week tally to more than 33 million as the coronavirus pandemic caused unprecedented job losses. While another bad number, the jobless claims were below the 3.8 million and 4.4 million pace of the prior two weeks and down from the 6.8 million jobs lost at the end of March. Some investors took this to mean that maybe the worst job losses are behind us. — Li
8:15 am: Stifel calls Peloton an “unstoppable juggernaut,” raises price target to $50
Wall Street firm Stifel raised its price target to $50 per share on stay-at-home stock Peloton on Thursday on the back of the fitness companies earnings. Stifel said the target increases is spurred by Peloton’s better-than-expected outlook for the next quarter and “favorable demand dynamics.” Peloton said stay-at-home orders sparked a 66% jump in sales during the quarantine. “This company is an unstoppable juggernaut to be stopped only by way of self-inflicted wound from here,” Stifel’s Scott Devitt told clients. “Peloton is in the early stages of building the world’s first global fitness platform.” Stifel has a buy rating on Peloton’s stock, which is up more than 18% in premarket trading on Thursday. – Fitzgerald
8:01 am: Moderna surges 16% in premarket after FDA approves vaccine phase 2 trial
7:45 am: Jobless claims expected to rise by 3 million
Economists polled by Dow Jones expect just over 3 million Americans to have filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 2. That would bring the seven-week total to about 33 million as the coronavirus pandemic forces massive layoffs across industries. However, the rate of new jobless claims has been steadily falling in recent weeks. Also, a print of 3 million would be lower than the previous number of 3.84 million. —Imbert
7:42 am: Lyft shares gain 16% after revenue jumps 23% year-over-year
Shares of Lyft rose 16% in premarket trading following the company’s first quarter earnings results. The ride-hailing company lost an adjusted $1.09 per share for the quarter, which was larger than the 63 cents loss analysts had been expecting, but revenue topped estimates and rose 23% year-over-year. The number of active riders increased by 3% year-over-year. Last Friday, the company said it was laying off or furloughing nearly 17% of its workforce in an effort to cut costs. –Stevens
7:36 am: Peloton shares surge after earnings
Peloton shares jumped 20% during Thursday’s premarket trading after the fitness equipment maker’s third quarter results. The company lost 20 cents per share, which was more than the 17 cents loss the Street had been looking for, but revenue beat estimates. Peloton said stay-at-home orders sparked a 66% jump in sales, and the company also raised its sales forecast for the current quarter. For the year the stock is up 21%, while the S&P 500 has shed nearly 12%. –Stevens
7:27 am: Stock futures point to rebound on Wall Street
U.S. stock futures rose sharply, putting Wall Street on track to rebound from Wednesday’s decline, ahead of key unemployment data. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up more than 200 points, or 1.1%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 1.3%. A 9.1% surge in West Texas Intermediate futures helped sentiment in equity futures. Those gains in stock and oil futures came ahead of the Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims report, which is slated for 8:30 a.m. On Wednesday, the Dow and S&P 500 closed lower for the first time in three sessions as investors weighed the possibility of the economy reopening soon. —Imbert
— CNBC’s Maggie Fitzgerald contributed reporting.
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Source: Finance - cnbc.com
