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Illustration by Mike Haddad.
Investors analyzed concerns about the virus midday Thursday, taking advantage of some early gains even amid mixed data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 rose 0.2% in recent trade, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%.
The latest unemployment figures show that while unemployment numbers are declining, companies remain reluctant to hire, even when many states reopen (although new Covid-19 case spikes have some concern that this may change ). On the upside, durable goods orders rose last month, according to Commerce Department data, and hopes that a vaccine will continue to improve investor sentiment.
Some good earnings news was also helping. Accenture (ACN) increased 6.2% after its optimistic earnings report.
Darden Restaurants (DRI) received a similar boost, increasing 4.9% as its quarterly loss was less than expected.
However, Macy’s (M) fell 4.6% lower as it revealed plans to cut even more workers amid coronavirus-related problems.
Walt Disney (DIS) is also falling, as the virus is delaying Disneyland’s planned reopening.
Even with White House assurances “that there will be no second lockout, the current trajectory in certain states does little to instill confidence that this reopening can continue unhindered,” writes Joshua Mahony, IG market analyst. In fact, even Texas, which had previously resisted stricter measures, has halted the reopening of the state.
Still, the fact that the market continues to make small gains this afternoon shows that investors are beyond these concerns for now.
Write to Teresa Rivas at [email protected]
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