The Leuthold Group chief investment strategist Jim Paulsen, LPL Financial chief market strategist Ryan Detrick and The MarketGauge Group managing director Michele Schneider on today’s markets and the American economy.
It is a choppy session for U.S. stocks which are building on gains midday as investors take in jobless claims which fell to a record low and another busy earnings calendar.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 34417.87 | +187.53 | +0.55% |
| HD | THE HOME DEPOT, INC. | 337.29 | +4.97 | +1.50% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 200 points to a fresh record, Home Depot among the leaders.
The Nasdaq Composite is shaking off losses, as Microsoft and Apple bounced between losses and gains.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 13589.024032 | +6.60 | +0.05% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 248.11 | +1.64 | +0.67% |
| AAPL | APPLE, INC. | 128.82 | +0.72 | +0.57% |
Ditto for the S&P 500 despite weakness in energy stocks with oil marginally lower at the $65 per barrel level.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4181.22 | +13.63 | +0.33% |
| XLE | ENERGY SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF | 52.34 | -0.17 | -0.31% |
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The Labor Department reported new claims for unemployment benefits fell to 498,000, a fresh pandemic low after 553,000 the prior week. This follows solid gains reported by ADP on Wednesday.
The report is a positive pre-cursor ahead of Friday’s jobs report for April. Economists expect the data to show employers hired 988,000 workers last month as the economy accelerated out of the pandemic and vaccines rolled out nationwide. The unemployment rate is expected to drop to 5.8%.
PELOTON PUNISHED ON RECALL, ERASES $4B IN VALUE
As for stocks on the move…
Peloton shares, which lost $4 billion in value following the company’s recall of all its treadmills following the death of a child, in focus ahead of earnings after the closing bell.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTON | PELOTON INTERACTIVE, INC. | 83.82 | +1.20 | +1.45% |
In healthcare, Moderna posted its first profit in the company’s history while revenue hit $1.9 billion, missing analyst expectations.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRNA | MODERNA, INC. | 158.52 | -4.32 | -2.65% |
“In the first quarter, the Moderna team delivered on its supply commitments to many governments and helped protect more than 100 million people,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM, INC. | 3,304.28 | +33.74 | +1.03% |
Amazon also in focus after CEO Jeff Bezos sold around $2 billion in stock as he prepares to hand the reins over to incoming chief Andy Jassy.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PZZA | PAPA JOHN’S INTERNATIONAL | 101.28 | +7.28 | +7.74% |
Papa John’s saw a pop after both profit and sales exceeded analysts’ expectations. North American sales rose over 26% driven by the company’s Epic Stuffed Crust pizza.
US COMPANIES ADDED 742,000 JOBS IN APRIL, ADP SAYS
In other economic news, we’ll also get a look at first-quarter productivity and labor costs. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv anticipate that worker productivity rose at a 4.3% seasonally adjusted annual rate last quarter, a reversal from the 4.2% slide in the fourth quarter of 2020. Unit labor costs are expected to slip 0.8% in the first quarter after jumping 6.0% in 4Q 2020.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.