Thursday’s Stock Market Open: US Equities Mixed As Another 2 Million File Unemployment Claims

Update: 12:05 p.m. EDT:

U.S. stocks moved into positive territory by noon Thursday as Nasdaq reversed losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140.61 points to 25,688.88, while the S&P 500 rose 19.99 points to 3,056.12 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 71.79 points to 9,484.15.

In Europe markets finished higher, as Britain’s FTSE-100 gained 1.21%, while France’s CAC-40 climbed 1.76% and Germany’s DAX rose 1.06%.

The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that the index of pending home sales plunged by 21.8% in April from March.

Original story:

U.S. stocks opened mixed on Thursday as traders mulled some grim economic data while watching developments in Hong Kong.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 107.82 points to 25,656.09, while the S&P 500 rose 9.04 points to 3,045.17 and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 4.24 points to 9,408.12.

About 2.1 million Americans filed claims for unemployment last week, the lowest weekly amount since the coronavirus pandemic commenced. Since mid-March, more than 40 million people have filed claims.

Robert Gibbs, former White House Press Secretary, tweeted: “Some good news though: Continuing claims fell for the first time during the pandemic to 21.1 million, meaning some are being hired [and] going back to work.”

Orders for durable goods plunged by 17.2% in April. Core durable orders fell 5.8%.

Revised government data showed the U.S. economy shrank at an annualized 5% rate in the first quarter instead of 4.8%.

China’s National People’s Congress approved a bill imposing a new national security law that will bypass Hong Kong’s own legislature. On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Hong Kong was no longer autonomous, jeopardizing its special trade status.

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia Philip Lowe provided some optimism about the country’s economy, stating “it is possible that the economic downturn will not be severe as earlier thought.”

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard said the U.S. economy may already have bottomed.

Overnight in Asia, markets finished mixed. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.33%; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.72%; while Japan’s Nikkei-225 rose 2.32%.

In Europe markets traded higher, as Britain’s FTSE-100 gained 1.4%, while France’s CAC-40 climbed 1.24% and Germany’s DAX rose 0.82%.

Crude oil futures edged up 0.24% at $32.89 per barrel, Brent crude inched up 0.25% at $35.54. Gold futures rose 0.78%.

The euro gained 0.25% at $1.036 while the pound sterling rose 0.24% at $1.2288.