The weekly jobless claims report showed that another 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment this week. Despite that figure, bulls saw another rally in the stock market today.
At one point, the S&P 500 rallied almost 2% on the day, before backing off the highs. That’s likely as investors reduce exposure ahead of the monthly labor report on Friday.
The jobless claims report missed expectations again — at 3.2 million compared to 3 million — setting the stage for a disappointing monthly look tomorrow. But at this point investors have to wonder, is it already accounted for?
In other words, who’s expecting good results on Friday? Current estimates call for a loss of 22 million jobs and for the unemployment rate to shoot up to 16% from 4.4% last month.
Earnings Roundup
Square (NYSE:SQ) stock ripped 9.6% in the stock market today. The move came despite a miss on earnings, although revenue grew about 44% to $1.38 billion and beat expectations. Perhaps the gain came from optimism around Square’s Cash App. That platform showed a 112% surge in gross profit.
Square was one of our Top Stock Trades on Thursday.
Square’s rally pales in comparison to Twilio (NYSE:TWLO), which rallied more than 40% after a top- and bottom-line earnings beat. While solid, guidance was the kicker. Management expects revenue for next quarter in the range $365 million to $370 million, well above estimates for $323.4 million.
Fastly (NYSE:FSLY) stepped up even further, rallying more than 50% at one point. The company beat on earnings and revenue estimates and sees much better-than-expected results for next quarter. FSLY also gave a significant hike to its full-year outlook. Clearly not all companies are hurting from the novel coronavirus.
While not an earnings play, bitcoin was still a big mover in the stock market today. Famed investor Paul Tudor Jones says the cryptocurrency reminds him of gold in the 1970s. He believes that it’s a hedge against “great monetary inflation.”
Bitcoin is up 6% on the day, putting it within spitting distance of its 2020 highs near $10,500.
Movers in the Stock Market Today
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) has temporarily halted production at its Shanghai plant. Employees were told to not come back to the plant until at least May 9. While workers were already on a national labor holiday from May 1 to May 5, they are taking a few extra days off due to a parts shortage.
“There’s an increasing sense that the worst is behind the industry,” states Again Capital’s John Kilduff in regards to oil. After some tough drops, crude oil is on track for its best week on record. Saudi Arabia is raising its oil prices as gasoline demand starts to increase with economies beginning to reopen.
Despite the move, energy stocks aren’t rallying like many would expect. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLE) is up just 3% this week, while the VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF (NYSEARCA:OIH) is down slightly despite Thursday’s 4% rally.
Brokerages are booming. TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD) hit a record with 608,000 newly funded accounts in its first quarter and over three times its total users in March year-over-year. E*Trade (NASDAQ:ETFC), Fidelity (NYSE:FIS) and Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) all reported record new users as well.
Another one bites the dust as Neiman Marcus joins the list of companies to file for bankruptcy due to the pandemic. The company was struggling before the coronavirus outbreak hit, and while it tried to stay afloat by furloughing most of its 14,000 employees, it couldn’t survive.
It joins J Crew, which announced a similar move this week. Is J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) next? Shares hit a new 52-week low on the day.
Bret Kenwell is the manager and author of Future Blue Chips and is on Twitter @BretKenwell. As of this writing, Bret Kenwell is long FSLY.
