U.S. Futures Pare Gains 5.25 million jobless claims: Markets Wrap

 

Ultimo Dato:  solicitudes de subsidio por desempleo,  han superado los 5,2 millones de solicitudes en una sola semana. Entre las tres semanas anteriores, los subsidios ya sumaban 16,75 millones, más los 5,25 millones de esta semana, totalizan 22 millones de nuevos desempleados. Este mal dato se suma a los desplomes históricos sufridos esta semana en la producción industrial o las ventas minoristas, que anticipan una recesión sin parangón en la mayor economía del mundo.

 

These are the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• Futures on the S&P 500 Index rose 0.49% as of 8:39a.m. New York time.
• The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.8%.
• The MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 1%.

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index gained 0.3%.
• The euro dipped 0.3% to $1.0874.
• The British pound decreased 0.3% to $1.2483.
• The Japanese yen weakened 0.2% to 107.69 per dollar.

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries dipped two basis points to 0.61%.
• Germany’s 10-year yield gained one basis point to -0.46%.
• Britain’s 10-year yield rose one basis point to 0.307%.

U.S. equity futures pared gains while European stocks and the dollar rose on Thursday as investors digested the latest corporate earnings and economic data to gauge the extent of damage caused by the coronavirus. Oil climbed.

Contracts for the three main American benchmarks struggled to hold onto their advance after the underlying gauges slid on Wednesday amid miserable data in the world’s largest economy. All eyes now turn to the weekly unemployment claims number, which has become arguably the most-watched measure of the economic damage caused by the pandemic. Treasuries turned higher as the greenback built on its surge a day earlier.

The market is now bracing for the weekly U.S. unemployment figures due Thursday as both corporate results and economic data highlight the severe hit from the shutdown of industry and commerce needed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. American retail sales and factory output posted historic declines in March, and surveys in April looked even worse. Manufacturing in New York state and sentiment among the nation’s homebuilders plunged.

“The economic reality and corporate earnings reality, at some stage, needs to reconcile with the markets,” Tai Hui, Asia-Pacific chief market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said in a phone interview. “The market hasn’t fully factored in the uncertainties or potential risks in terms of earnings downgrades.”

 

On the results front, BlackRock Inc. reported flat earnings in the first quarter despite the turmoil sparked by the outbreak. BNY Mellon boosted its provision for credit losses, while Morgan Stanley’s numbers looked like a mixed bag, with net income per share down from a year ago but some solid results in sales and trading.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced for the sixth day out of seven, with almost all major national gauges and industry sectors in the green. Shares fell in Hong Kong and Japan while stocks in China saw modest gains. Oil turned higher after dropping to its lowest in almost two decades this week.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has said data suggest the U.S. has “passed the peak” on new cases and added he will announce on Thursday guidelines to relax stay-at-home rules. Covid-19 has now infected 2 million people globally, with fatalities topping 137,000.

“We don’t know what the economy is going to look like over the next year — there is a lot of uncertainty with the virus,” Mark Kiesel, global credit chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management Co., said on Bloomberg TV. “We are not through the woods yet — there could be a second wave.”

Elsewhere, Mexico’s peso retreated after Fitch downgraded the country’s debt rating, while the Philippines cut rates in an unscheduled move.