Midway through trading Thursday, the Dow traded up 1.37% to 34,046.72 while the NASDAQ rose 1.08% to 13,173.00. The S&P also rose, gaining 1.29% to 4,115.26.
The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 32,815,400 cases with around 583,690 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 23,703,660 cases and 258,310 deaths, while Brazil reported over 15,359,390 COVID-19 cases with 428,030 deaths. In total, there were at least 160,505,170 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 3,333,070 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Financial shares climbed 1.8% on Thursday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included CI Financial Corp CIXX, up 11%, and A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. AMRK, up 12%.
In trading on Thursday, energy shares fell 0.4%.
Top Headline
US initial jobless claims fell by 34,000 to 473,000 in the week ending May 8, recording the lowest level since the covid-19 pandemic first hit the market in March 2020.
Equities Trading UP
Flux Power Holdings, Inc. FLUX shares shot up 17% to $8.99 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 results.
Shares of Reliance Global Group, Inc. RELI got a boost, shooting 52% to $4.4865 after the company said it has acquired a premier health insurance agency, J.P. Kush and Associates, Inc.
Ramaco Resources, Inc. METC shares were also up, gaining 19% to $4.95 after the company reported an increase in quarterly earnings.
Check out these big movers of the day
Equities Trading DOWN
Zovio Inc ZVO shares tumbled 37% to $2.17 after the company reported wider-than-expected Q1 loss.
Shares of ContextLogic Inc. WISH were down 18% to $9.36 after the company reported Q1 earnings results.
Evoke Pharma, Inc. EVOK was down, falling 17% to $1.2550 after the company reported downbeat Q1 results.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 3% to $64.10, while gold traded up 0.1% to $1,825.30.
Silver traded down 0.4% Thursday to $27.125 while copper fell 0.6% to $4.7095.
Euro zone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 declined 0.08%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.39% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.37%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 fell 0.5%, French CAC 40 fell 0.25% and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.33%.
Economics
US initial jobless claims fell by 34,000 to 473,000 in the week ending May 8, recording the lowest level since the covid-19 pandemic first hit the market in March 2020.
Producer prices increased 0.6% in April following a 1% increase in March.
US natural-gas supplies rose 71 billion cubic feet last week, the Energy Information Administration said.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The Treasury will auction 30-year bonds at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is set to speak at 4:00 p.m. ET.
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