INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Wall Street jumped 1 per cent on Thursday as a third straight decline in weekly jobless claims raised hopes the worst of the coronavirus
pandemic's impact on the labor market was over, while energy stocks zoomed 5 per cent on a rebound in oil prices.
Weekly jobless claims fell
to 4.43 million from a revised 5.24 million, but it was still staggering and took the total in the past five weeks to a record 26 million,
jobs created since the global financial crisis.
"The decline in initial jobless claims is encouraging, but the damage has already been done
with the insured unemployment rate surging to a record high in the (previous) week," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S
economist at Capital Economics.
The energy index gained the most among the 11 S-P 500 sectors as oil prices recovered in a tumultuous week
crude futures crash below zero for the first time in history.
U.S
stock indexes have rallied this month on a raft of global stimulus, but the benchmark S-P 500 remains more than 15 per cent below its record
high as worsening economic indicators foreshadow a deep global recession.
A survey showed U.S
business activity plumbed new record lows in April, mirroring dire figures from Europe and Asia as strict stay-at-home orders crushed
production, supply chains and consumer spending.
Still, the mood was risk-on with the only decliners among S-P 500 sub-indexes being
defensive utilities and consumer staples
The banking sub-sector tracked a slight rise in Treasury yields.
The CBOE volatility index has retreated from 12-year peaks hit last month,
but remains well above levels seen in the past two years and analysts have warned of another selloff as Corporate America issues worrying
forecasts for the year.
"What we are looking for is the turning point where the more cyclical companies start to outperform," said Bill
Callahan, investment strategist at Schroders in New York.
"So when we see light at the end of the tunnel, you will start to see industrial,
financials, maybe even energy companies start to do better and outperform."
Meanwhile, Congress was preparing nearly $500 billion more in
aid for small businesses and hospitals, which is expected to clear the House of Representatives later in the day.
At 11:13 a.m
ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 311.01 points, or 1.32 per cent, at 23,786.83, the S-P 500 was up 34.94 points, or 1.25 per cent,
at 2,834.25 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 110.05 points, or 1.30 per cent, at 8,605.43.
Blackstone Group Inc jumped 6 per cent as the
asset manager posted a 4 per cent rise in its first-quarter distributable earnings, driven by a surge in management fees.
A 10.3 per cent
jump for Las Vegas Sands Corp lifted U.S
casino operators after the company predicted a speedy recovery in Asia on pent-up gambling demand.
Shares in Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts and
Melco Resorts gained between 4 per cent and 8 per cent.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners more than 3-to-1 on the NYSE and on the
Nasdaq.
The S-P index recorded six new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 25 new highs and five new lows
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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/dow-jones-gains-on-hopes-worst-for-us-labor-market-over/articleshow/75325642.cms