U.S. stocks rose Tuesday as the market took heart from the easing of restrictions on businesses in the U.S. and Europe, amid hopes for an early vaccine to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investors also were watching a rise in crude oil prices and continued to monitor corporate earnings for management outlook on the pandemic, with Dow component Disney set to be in particular focus after the close.
How are the benchmarks faring?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA,
On Monday, the Dow managed a gain of 26.07 points, or 0.1%, to end at 23,749.76, and the S&P 50 gained 12.03 points, or 0.4%, finishing at 2,842.74, with both benchmarks erasing declines of more than 1% for their sharpest intraday reversal since March, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Nasdaq Composite rose 105.77 points, or 1.2%, closing at 8,710.7,
What’s driving the market?
U.S. stocks looked to extend an uptrend that began late Monday as investors dismissed reports on growing tensions between China and the U.S. and continued to focus on the prospect of businesses in the U.S. slowly opening up after a period of stultifying coronavirus lockdowns.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said that clothing stores and a number of other retailers could open for curbside pickup on Friday, among a number of states that are slowly attempting to unwind measures put in place to limit the COVID-19 disease.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday said his state was seeing a drop in hospitalizations but wanted to see the numbers fall more substantially before commencing the reopening of business that would come in phases.
“Investors have been waiting for a retest of the March lows, but policy support has been massive and there has been some improvement in the medical data in parts of the country,” Brian Levitt, global market strategist at Invesco, told MarketWatch.
In Germany, state premiers are set to agree on measures to further ease restrictions on business in a teleconference with Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report, while Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is also moving to loosen curbs on businesses and will allow schools to reopen starting May 27.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that researchers at New York University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine said Tuesday that they began injecting people with the first of four vaccine candidates from Pfizer Inc. PFE,
The tests are the most recent efforts in the search for a cure for the disease that has infected more than 3.6 million globally and claimed more than a quarter of a million lives since emerging in Wuhan, China in December, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
A recent rebound in crude-oil prices CL.1,
“Looking just at stock market indices, one could conclude that the worst has passed,” Marios Hadjikyriacos, investment analyst at XM, wrote in a Tuesday note. “States are opening up for business again, and if crude stockpiles are indeed rising slower, then Americans are probably driving more already.”
After the close Tuesday, investors will focus on some of the winners and losers of the viral outbreak, with Walt Disney & Co. DIS,
Results from Electronic Arts Inc. EA,
On the economic front, trade data showed the U.S. deficit soaring 12% as the coronavirus epidemic dealt a severe blow to American exporters. Survey data on the services sector from the Institute for Supply Management showed it crashing to recession levels in April, though the reading of 41.8% was better than the consensus forecast.
Which other stocks are in focus?
- Shares of Hertz Global Holdings Inc. HTZ,
-14.76% were down more than 17% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the car rental company has hired an additional adviser to help with an imminent bankruptcy filing. - Shake Shack Inc. SHAK,
-4.57% saw its shares fall after it said it was seeing higher beef prices amid closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also reported a loss of $ 1.1 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with net income of $ 3.6 million, or 9 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. - Starbucks Corp.’s stock SBUX,
+2.64% rose after the coffee giant announced plans to reopen more than 85% of its U.S. stores by the end of this week. - Shares of DuPont de Nemours Inc. DD,
+2.25% were up after the materials and ingredients company reported a first-quarter adjusted profit and sales that topped expectations, as the COVID-19 pandemic helped boost the personal protection, water filtration, electronics and probiotics and food and beverage businesses. - United Airlines Holdings Inc. UAL,
-2.49% expects to shrink its management and administrative ranks by at least 30% starting in October. - AMC Networks Inc. AMCX,
+3.06% said it expects the COVID-19 pandemic to have a material impact on its results. - Shares of Wayfair W,
+22.58% were down after the home and office furniture retailer reported deepening losses in the first quarter.. - Toy maker Mattel Inc. MAT,
+1.74% Arconic and Pinterest PINS,+1.02% also will report results on Tuesday.
How are other markets trading?
West Texas Intermediate crude oil for June delivery CLM20,
Meanwhile, MarketWatch’s PetroCurrency Index MWPC,
The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, was up 0.2% against a basket of a half-dozen currencies as gauged by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY,
In precious metals, the price of an ounce of gold for June delivery GCM20,
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y,
In Asia overnight, stocks closed mostly lower, as the Hang Seng Index HSI,
In Europe, stocks traded higher with the Stoxx Europe 600 SXXP,
