June 3, 2020
Stock market news live updates: Stocks rise as markets shake off unrest, lousy ADP data
by Emily McCormick
Yahoo Finance
Stocks extended gains Wednesday as investors set their sights on more major cities’ plans to reopen businesses in the near-term as the coronavirus pandemic eased.
More dour economic figures underscored the damage wrought by the COVID-19 crisis, with U.S. employers shaving off nearly 2.8 million private payrolls in May, according to a report Wednesday from ADP.
However, markets shrugged off the data, which as the data beat consensus expectations by a mile. On average, Wall Street economists expected private sector job losses to total 9 million for the month, according to a Bloomberg survey.
“The ADP report isn't always a reliable predictor of the [nonfarm payrolls] data, but it suggests that the pace of job loss moderated noticeably between April and May, even though it remained substantial relative to pre-COVID-19 norms,” JPMorgan Chase economist Daniel Silver wrote in a note on Wednesday.
“This is a message broadly consistent with some other related signals, and the labor market likely has benefitted from the easing of restrictions on activity in many places in recent weeks,” he added.
Equities in Europe and Asia also rose after a survey from Caixin/IHS Markit showed China’s services sector purchasing managers’ index (PMI) jumped to 55.0 in May, the highest since October 2010. Meanwhile, crude oil prices held at a three-month high above $36 per barrel, after a Bloomberg report cast some doubt over the likelihood of OPEC and its allies agreeing to extend oil production cuts this month.
Market participants largely looked past ongoing protests, looting and unrest that has taken place over multiple days in major metropolitan areas across the country.
“The reason the market is not paying attention yet is the market doesn’t believe it’s going to impact the economy, nor earnings,” Paul Schatz, Heritage Capital chief investment officer, told Yahoo Finance’s The First Trade.
Some health professionals, however, voiced concerns that mass gatherings could exacerbate the spread of the coronavirus. Still, the most recent data on new case growth has held in-line with recent trends so far, with confirmed cases in the U.S. rising 1.2% to 1.82 million between Monday and Tuesday afternoon, or about in-line with the seven-day trend, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.
Multiple cities extended curfews as officials tried to implement measures to curb instances of violence. New York City, which has seen crowds gather over the past five days, extended its curfew through Sunday and moved up the start time to 8 p.m., after initially instating a curfew Monday evening.
Despite the ongoing mass gatherings and property damage, many mayors affirmed their plans to push ahead with reopening plans, in a move to lessen the drag on economic activity following weeks of social distancing measures and forced business closures. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the city was still slated to begin reopening on June 8, regardless of whether protests were still taking place at that point. Chicago similarly planned to push ahead into the next phase of its reopening process Wednesday, despite days’ worth of unrest, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
While earnings season has slowed considerably this week, some notable companies still comprised the earnings calendar. Zoom (ZM), the video communications company viewed as a major beneficiary of the widespread work-from-home phenomenon, posted a 170% increase in sales for the three months to April 30 alongside a surge in users, and said it planned to expand hiring for the rest of the year.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-live-june-3-2020-222326014.html
Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months
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