Stock futures point to positive open
U.S. stocks look set to rebound on Thursday after the Dow and other major indexes suffered huge losses during the previous session as the novel coronavirus infections in the country and worldwide spiked yet again.
By 6:00 a.m. ET Thursday, the blue-chip Dow futures were down 325.5 points or 1.57% at 21,065.5 points. The S&P 500 futures dropped 34.88 points, or 1.42% to 2,482.88 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were seen losing 73.75 points, or around 1% to 7,512.5 points.
Initial jobless claims report in focus
All eyes will be on the U.S. weekly jobless claims report, which will reveal how many people filed for unemployment benefits last week amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Labor Department is scheduled to release the report today at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Goldman Sachs economists expect the figure to come in at 5.5 million compared to last week’s all-time record of 3.3 million claims. Morgan Stanley projects 5.5 million claims. The economists also predict that last week’s jaw-dropping figure could be revised upward too.
UPDATE: jobless claims came out at a jaw-dropping 6.6 million.
Crude, energy stocks jump as Trump sounds note of optimism on Russia-Saudi oil deal
Crude futures were also trading higher on Thursday morning after President Donald Trump sounded an optimistic note that Saudi Arabia and Russia could strike an agreement to end their price war within a few days by cutting production and shoring up prices.
“Worldwide, the oil industry has been ravaged,” Trump told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday “It’s very bad for Russia, its very bad for Saudi Arabia. I mean, it’s very bad for both. I think they’re going to make a deal.” The president also announced that he would meet with oil industry executives on Friday.
By 6:00 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.89, or 9.31% to $22.20 per barrel. International Brent crude futures gained $2.37, or 9.58% to $27.11 a barrel.
Trump’s remarks also lifted several energy stocks in premarket trading session Thursday. Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) shares gained 6.58%, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) climbed 7.1%, Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) rose 13.4% while Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) was up 10.89%.
