Despite the robust after-hours reaction on Wednesday, bulls had a frustrating session in the stock market today.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) all traded higher in Wednesday’s after-hours session. While some reactions were only mildly higher — like MSFT and QCOM — others were higher by 8% to 10%.
That gave Nasdaq Composite futures a 4%-plus boost in evening trading, but that enthusiasm didn’t carry over to Thursday’s regular-hours session. Tesla gapped higher by almost 7% before turning lower on the day, while Qualcomm also slipped into negative territory. Microsoft rallied 1%, while Facebook climbed “just” 5%. That’s about half the after-hours gain the social media giant was sporting last night.
Now we have Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) to get through on Thursday evening.
Coronavirus Dropping, Jobless Claims Climbing
United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that Britain is past the peak of the novel coronavirus outbreak and is heading for the downward slope. There’s no exact timeline for what the next steps are or when restrictions will be lifted. However, he hopes to have more positive information in the weeks to come. It’s still a step in the right direction.
Can we say the same about jobless claims? Another 3.83 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits. That was worse than economists’ expectations for 3.5 million claims, but better than last week’s 4.44 million.
Further, it brings the running total to more than 30 million jobless claims in the last six weeks. The non-farm payrolls report for April should be interesting (due up May 8).
Movers in the Stock Market Today
Zoom Video (NASDAQ:ZM) shares fell 7.7% in the stock market today after announcing a mistake regarding its user count. On April 22, the company reported a 50% increase in daily active users, which hit the 300 million mark. However, the company is now backtracking a bit. Zoom says it actually had 300 million daily meeting participants, and participants can be counted more than once.
Macy’s (NYSE:M) shares fell 3.3% after CEO Jeff Gennette says it’s going to come out of the pandemic as a smaller company. The retailer is in the process of raising debt to help with its liquidity. Further, Macy’s expects lower volume this holiday season and is considering permanently closing certain locations.
Some tough decisions are ahead for the NBA. Several executives are pushing to cancel the current NBA season amid concerns around safety and liability. A number of companies would feel the pinch if that were to happen. That ranges from apparel companies like Nike (NYSE:NKE) and Under Armour (NYSE:UA, NYSE:UAA) to broadcasters like Disney (NYSE:DIS). That doesn’t include sportsbook operators like MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) or Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN), as well as companies that benefit from stadium operations.
Boeing (NYSE:BA) is reportedly considering a bevy of debt sales to help bolster its liquidity. There’s apparently strong demand for the company’s planned bond offering. Originally expected to raised $20 billion, Boeing could potentially raise up to $75 billion. It would be spread across multiple maturities, ranging from five years to 40 years. According to sources, the pricing would be based on benchmark Treasury yields plus 500 basis points.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. Kenwell is long AAPL and DIS.
