Wall Street pushed ahead on Thursday, with all three major benchmarks gaining above 1.5% during intraday trading. FAANG--Facebook
Yet, the economic data for the United States is not preforming like the stock market, as the U.S. Labor Department's weekly jobless claims reported that another 3.169 million individuals filed new unemployment claims for the week ended May 2. While slightly less than last week's reading of 3.8 million, the unemployment claims are still showing a deeper economic burden that will linger longer than the threat of the virus. So far, the coronavirus pandemic has pushed at least 33 million Americans out of work as statewide shutdowns and restrictions continue into early May.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
In Major Stock Market News, Peloton
In Stock Sector News, most sectors reversed Wednesday's negative drop during Thursday's session, with only Consumer Staples -0.41% and Health Care -0.05% declining. The positive performance gains were as follows: Energy +2.47%, Financials +2.22%, Materials +2.13%, Communication Services +1.56%, Information Technology +1.52%, Consumer Discretionary +1.34%, Industrials +1.14%, Real Estate +0.85% and Utilities +0.44%.
In Commodity and Currency News, June crude oil futures declined on Thursday despite demand hopes that reopening plans are bringing. West Texas Intermediate
As the market moves into Friday, investors are bracing for an April jobs report that is expected to be the worst in history.