Closing Stock Market SummaryThe S&P 500 increased 0.1% on Thursday after trading near its flat line for most of the session amid mixed economic signals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.3%), and Russell 2000 (unch) also closed little changed.
Most sectors within the S&P 500 alternated between gains and losses throughout the day. The energy sector (+1.2%) showed relative strength amid an uptick in oil prices ($38.79/bbl, +0.86, +2.3%) despite lingering coronavirus concerns, while the real estate sector (-1.3%) showed relative weakness.
Unfortunately, the latest unemployment data didn't strike the same level of awe that the May employment report did. Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 13 remained elevated at 1.508 million (consensus 1.350 million), as did continuing claims at 20.544 million for the week ending June 6.
Conversely, there was some noticeable improvement in other data. The Philadelphia Fed Index for June unexpectedly turned positive (27.5 actual vs. -25.0 consensus), and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for May increased for the first time since January (+2.8% actual vs. +2.5% consensus).
Spotify (SPOT 225.28, +25.45, +12.7%), meanwhile, was a clear winner after the company reached separate podcasting deals with Warner Bros. for its DC content and Kim Kardashian West for her work with the Innocence Project. Spotify didn't confirm its partnership with Ms. Kardashian West, but it was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
In other corporate news, T-Mobile US (TMUS 106.39, +3.76, +3.7%) said it's seeing a faster-than-expected recovery in retail, Biogen (BIIB 260.30, -21.16, -7.5%) lost a patent dispute for its MS drug, and Kroger (KR 31.81, -1.00, -3.1%) shares fell 3% despite the company beating top and bottom-line estimates,
U.S. Treasuries finished mixed with longer-dated tenors closing higher. The 2-yr yield was unchanged at 0.19%, while the 10-yr yield declined four basis points to 0.69%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.3% to 97.47 amid relative weakness in the British pound after the Bank of England increased its asset purchase program to GBP745 billion.
Reviewing Thursday's economic data:
- Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 13 were higher than expected (and still high) at 1.508 million (consensus 1.350 million) versus 1.566 million in the prior week. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending June 6 decreased by 62,000 to 20.544 million.
- The key takeaway from the initial claims report for some will be that the level of initial claims is lower than the week before, but the more meaningful takeaway for many is that initial jobless claims still running in the millions at this point isn't good at all.
- The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased 2.8% in May (Briefing.com consensus 2.5%) following a downwardly revised 6.1% decline (from -4.4%) in April. It was the first increase in the LEI since January.
- The key takeaway from the report is that it is reflective of an uptick in activity as some state economies started to reopen in May, yet the uptick is relative to a very depressed base in March and April.
- The Philadelphia Fed Index for June unexpectedly increased to 27.5 (consensus -25.0) from -43.1 in May.
Looking ahead, investors will receive the Current Account Balance for the first quarter on Friday.
- Nasdaq Composite +10.8% YTD
- S&P 500 -3.6% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average -8.6% YTD
- Russell 2000 -14.5% YTD