Stocks climbed in early trading on Wall Street Thursday as reports suggested that even though the economy is still suffering severely, the pace of pain may be decelerating. The S&P 500 rose 1.3%, following similar gains in Europe. The day’s headliner economic report showed another 3.2 million U.S. workers applied for jobless benefits last week, bringing the total over the last seven weeks to 33.5 million. It’s a shocking number, but it’s also the fifth straight week of decline since hitting a peak in late March. Several companies including Lyft and PayPal said they were seeing some encouraging trends in their businesses.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story is below:

Stock markets and the price of oil pushed higher on Thursday ahead of the latest weekly jobless claims figures in the U.S. and after China reported a rise in exports as its pandemic lockdown eased.

As more countries start to remove the draconian limits on business and public life, investors are trying to gauge how quickly the global economy might bounce back.

The labor market in the United States has been a focal point. On Thursday, government data will likely show that about 3.5 million people sought jobless aid last week, bringing the total to nearly 34 million since the shutdowns began seven weeks ago. On Friday, a monthly report is expected to show that the unemployment rate jumped to at least 16% in April — from just 4.4% in March.

Wall Street futures were up ahead of the start to trading, with Dow futures up 1.3% and those for the S&P 500 up 1.4%.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.8% to 4,470. Germany’s DAX also added 0.8%, to 10,692, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% to 5,895.

The Chinese trade data showed an encouraging 3.5% rise in exports in April, driven by electronics shipments and textiles, which included a surge in mask exports.

The data show China’s exports to the United States rose 2.2% in April, while imports of American goods fell 11% in a reflection of weak Chinese industrial and consumer demand despite the lifting of most anti-virus controls.

Imports fell 13.7% from a year earlier to $179.6 billion, worse than the first quarter’s 2.9% decline. But total exports rose to $200.3 billion, a turnaround from the 13.3% contraction in the three months ending in March.

Forecasters warned that strength is unlikely to last as the coronavirus pandemic depresses global consumer demand.

Comments by President Donald Trump raising the possibility of further trade friction with Beijing have worried investors hoping for better times as other economies begin to reopen from pandemic shutdowns.

Trump said he would soon assess progress in a preliminary trade agreement with China that took effect in January, extending a truce in a painful tariffs war between the world’s two biggest economies.

The possibility of revived friction over trade at a time when economies have been slammed by the pandemic and resulting travel restrictions has rattled investors in Asia, where China is the main driver for regional growth.

“President Trump’s latest threat to impose additional tariffs on China could also bring some front-loading exports in the near term," Wang said.

Most Asian markets slipped Thursday, but Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225, reopening after Golden Week holidays, gained 0.3% to finish at 19,674.77.

South Korea's Kospi was little changed, inching down less than 0.1% to 1,928.61. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4% to 5,364.20. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.7% to 23,980.63, while the Shanghai Composite fell 0.2% to 2,871.52.

Benchmark U.S. crude surged $2.51 to $26.50a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 57 cents, or 2.3%, to $23.99 a barrel Wednesday.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, gained $1.98 to $31.70 a barrel.

The dollar inched up to 106.60 Japanese yen from 106.13 yen Wednesday. The euro weakened to $1.0790 from $1.0795.

___

AP Business Writer Joe McDonald contributed.

Share:
More In Business
Tesla Gigafactory in Austin Close to Launching Into Production
Tesla's Austin, Texas-based gigafactory could be days away from opening its doors and beginning production. Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at WedBush Securities, joined Cheddar to talk about his estimate that the EV company will be running its factory within a week and noted that Tesla has been in a good position despite ongoing semiconductor shortages. "They're really almost Teflon-like relative to other automakers," he said, calling its production delays "containable." Amid another shortage — labor —, he said he thinks Tesla positioned itself well for access to talent months ago with expanded hiring amid the move to Texas from California.
UK Watchdog Raises Concerns About Child Safety in Meta's Virtual Reality
The UK's Information Commissioner's office is scrutinizing Facebook's parent company Meta over child safety practices linked to the Oculus headset, according to a report. The agency is looking to question the tech giant about how it's protecting children from harmful experiences in virtual reality.
Troy Aikman Dishes on His Own Light Beer Brand, Faves for Super Bowl LVI
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to talk about his own brand of organic light beer called Eight (his jersey number with the Dallas Cowboys) and explained that he's had an interest in the industry since his days working for a distributor during college. "These brands that are on the market have been there for a long time and [I] felt that it was time for something fresh, something new, and I thought that we could do it in a way that was a better-for-you beer' and that's what we've done," he said. Aikman also provided some insight into the upcoming NFL playoffs and noted that he doesn't see a clear frontrunner for this year's Vince Lombardi trophy.
Rolls-Royce CEO Talks Record Sales Growth in 2021, Electrifying Fleet
It has been a record year for luxury automaker Rolls-Royce despite the industry struggling to meet demand overall due to the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage. CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös joined Cheddar to discuss the driving factors behind the company's 2021 success. He said after the pandemic forced the closure of factories in 2020 and people stopped making large purchases, they were open to spending more in 2021. "The entire luxury sector was fueled by there's money available, and people are prepared to spend money," he said.
John Deere Unveils Self-Driving Tractor at CES 2022
John Deere is getting on board the autonomous vehicle craze with its own self-driving tractors. The farming and forestry equipment manufacturer made the announcement at the 2022 CES convention in Las Vegas. Jahmy Hindman, chief technology officer at John Deere, spoke to Cheddar about the shift to self-driving to agriculture and how it will help farmers produce even more food as the world's population continues to grow. "It's all about trying to do more with less in farming," he said. "Labor's already a problem on the farm, and it's only getting to be more of a problem in the future. And we really view autonomy as a way to solve that problem."
Analysts Unconcerned Despite More Than 5,000 Flight Cancellations
John Grant, a senior analyst at OAG, and Jonathan Root, an airline analyst at Moody's, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how mass cancellations are affecting both travelers and airlines after more than 5,000 U.S. flights were scrapped over the weekend. In addition to staff shortages linked to COVID-19, inclement weather reportedly also played a major role in the canceled flights, but Root downplayed the effect on revenues. "We're not concerned about the financial impact, which is going to be very manageable," he said. "We see these conditions as temporary with a favorable outlook as we pass the omicron wave."
Load More