- Stocks rose and crude prices soared on Thursday as good news in oil markets offset concerns about the number of US weekly jobless claims last week, which will be revealed later today.
- President Donald Trump predicted an end to the Russia-Saudi Arabia oil-price war after speaking to the leaders of both countries, while China is capitalizing on cheap crude to boost its reserves, Bloomberg reported.
- Top economists estimate between 3 million and 5.5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, after nearly 3.3 million filed the week before — more than tripling the previous weekly record.
- "Today's weekly jobless claims could print another cataclysmic week," one analyst said.
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Stocks climbed and crude prices surged on Thursday as investors cheered positive signs in oil markets and brushed off alarming estimates of US jobless claims.
Russia and Saudi Arabia will return to the negotiating table and end their oil-price war, President Donald Trump predicted during a news conference on Wednesday after speaking with the two countries' leaders. Moreover, China is bolstering its crude reserves following a 60% plunge in oil prices this year, Bloomberg reported.
However, the market mood was tempered by the imminent release of US jobless claims last week. Leading economists estimate between 3 million and 5.5 million people filed for unemployment benefits, after nearly 3.3 million filed the previous week, reflecting mass layoffs due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The previous weekly record was less than 700,000, set in 1982.
"Today's weekly jobless claims could print another cataclysmic week," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank, said in a morning note.
Here's the market roundup as of 10:40 a.m. in London (5:40 a.m. ET):
- European equities climbed, with Germany's DAX up 0.2%, Britain's FTSE 100 up 0.2%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.1%.
- Asian indexes broadly rose, with China's Shanghai Composite up 1.7% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.8%. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.4%.
- US stocks were set to open higher, with futures underlying the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq up between 1.5% and 1.8%.
- Oil prices rebounded, with West Texas Intermediate up 9.3% at $22.20 and Brent crude up 10.4% at $27.30.
- The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 0.60%.
- Gold climbed 0.7% to $1,602.
- Bitcoin rose by roughly 5% to about $6,650.
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