U.S. stock-index futures on Thursday were seeing muted action—though the tech sector looked to be perking up—as investors awaited a report on weekly jobless claims that is likely to show that more than one million Americans submitted claims for unemployment benefits amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, cases of coronavirus exceeded 12 million globally and the U.S.’s tally surpassed 3 million, even as reopening efforts in many states remained on track.
How are benchmarks performing?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YM00,
headed 78 points, or 0.3%, lower at 25,891; those for the S&P 500 index
ES00,
dipped 4.15 points to reach 3,159.25, a fall of 0.1%; while Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
rose 33.75 points, or 0.3%, at 10,696.
On Wednesday, the Dow
DJIA,
rose 177.10 points, or 0.7%, to end at 26,067.28, the S&P 500
SPX,
climbed 24.62 points, or 0.8%, to finish at 3,169.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
added 148.61 points, or 1.4%, closing at a 10,492.50 record, its 25th of the year.
What’s driving the market?
Another 1.3 million Americans filed for first-time jobless claims in the most recent week, below the 1.4 million forecast in the MarketWatch survey, and down from 1.43 million in the prior week.
The reports thus far have revealed a decelerating trend since peaking last March, but still mark the 15th straight week of claims of at least a million.
“In any case, initial claims remain very high and the improvement since late March has almost come to a halt,” wrote analysts at UniCredit in a daily research note. “The re-imposition of restrictions in several states facing growing numbers of new COVID-19 cases could have already had an effect,” the analysts said.
The weekly report comes after the monthly nonfarm-payroll report, issued on Thursday due to the Fourth of July holiday on Friday, showed that U.S. economy regained 7.5 million jobs in May and June, partially recovering some of the 22 million jobs lost during the first two months of the pandemic.
The day’s economic news will also include a report on wholesale trade inventories, at 10 Eastern. Economists surveyed by Econoday expect a decline of 1.2% in May.
Against that backdrop, infections derived from the novel strain of coronavirus haven’t abated. The U.S. reported more than 58,000 new cases on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, down slightly from the previous day. The country’s death toll stands at more than 132,309.
During a podcast with the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the foremost expert on infectious diseases in the U.S., said that we remain in the throes of the first wave of the deadly pandemic.
“We have never gotten out of the first wave,” he said. “So I wish we would stop talking about waves and just look at the reality of where we are right now. ”
Indeed, cases in California, Texas and Florida, hot spots in this resurgence, hit new daily record highs on Wednesday.
That said, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has encouraged
DIS,
to proceed with its phased plan to reopen its theme parks starting on Thursday and through July 15. In New York, indoor shopping malls outside of New York City are eligible to reopen Friday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
Elsewhere in the world, Tokyo saw more than 200 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, marking a daily record and Australia returned to a six-week lockdown in Melbourne, one of the country’s most populous cities, as infections rise. Mexico also saw an increase in infections, as did Iran.
Which stocks are in focus?
- Shares of
BBBY,
+1.66%
are in focus after the retailer said it would close 20% of stores. - U.S.-listed shares of
HEXO,
-0.98%
shot up in premarket trading Thursday, after the Canada-based cannabis company said it would start selling medical cannabis in Israel, marking the first time its medical cannabis products will be available outside of Canada.
How are other assets performing?
West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude futures for August delivery were virtually unchanged at $40.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In precious metals, August gold futures were down $3.80, or 0.2%, to $1816.80 an ounce, after hitting its highest level since Sept. 2011 on Tuesday.
The 10-year Treasury note yield was down a basis point at 0.651%. Bond prices move inversely to yields.
The greenback rose 0.1% against a basket of its major rivals, based on trading in the ICE U.S. Dollar Index.
In European equities, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was 0.3% higher, and London’s FTSE 100 slid 0.6%. In Asia markets, China’s benchmark CSI 300 Index gained 1.4%, extending its weekly rally. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled 4.4%
