Stock market news live updates: Nasdaq rises as tech shares gain; S&P 500 falls after touching record

Market Trading EssentialsAugust 13, 2020

3 minutes read

The S&P 500 and Dow dipped Thursday, after a rally Wednesday briefly sent the S&P 500 to record levels. The Nasdaq gained as tech shares renewed their run of outperformance.

new weekly unemployment insurance claims falling below 1 million for the first time during the pandemic period. New jobless claims totaled 963,000 for the week ended Aug. 8, ending what had been a 20-week streak that initial claims topped 1 million.

During the regular session on Wednesday, the S&P 500 briefly topped its record closing level of 3,386.15 from Feb. 19 before ending just slightly below that level. On Thursday, the consumer discretionary, and tech-heavy communication services and information technology sectors rose in the blue-chip index, but were outweighed by declines in utilities, financials and energy stocks.

LYFT) reported a narrower than expected second-quarter loss, and its 61% decline in second-quarter revenue was a shallower drop than feared, as the pandemic wiped out demand for ride-hailing. The company said ridership was up 78% in July compared with April’s lows, and the company maintained its outlook to hit adjusted EBITDA profitability by the end of next year.

Investors also continued to hold onto hopes that lawmakers would eventually reconcile their disparate demands and pass another coronavirus relief package.

Senate Republicans’ $1 trillion proposal, despite Democratic lawmakers’ calls for at least twice as much in aid. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement in response to Mnuchin’s remarks that they had “made clear” that they were “willing to come down $1 trillion if they will come up $1 trillion.”” data-reactid=”27″>However, prospects of a near-term deal appeared slim as of Wednesday as policymakers continued to verbally spar rather than return to the negotiating table. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested in an interview with Fox Business that the White House would not budge on its stance of moving ahead with Senate Republicans’ $1 trillion proposal, despite Democratic lawmakers’ calls for at least twice as much in aid. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement in response to Mnuchin’s remarks that they had “made clear” that they were “willing to come down $1 trillion if they will come up $1 trillion.”

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9:35 a.m. ET: Stocks open mixed, Nasdaq outperforms

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 9:35 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 (^GSPC): -7.68 points (-0.23%) to 3,372.67
Dow (^DJI): -84.49 points (-0.3%) to 27,892.35
Nasdaq (^IXIC): +32.44 points (+0.29%) to 11,044.21
Crude (CL=F): -$0.14 (-0.33%) to $42.53 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): -$2.20 (-0.11%) to $1,946.80 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): +0.1 bps to yield 0.687%

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8:30 a.m. ET: New weekly jobless claims dip below 1 million for the first time since March

Weekly unemployment insurance claims fell below the 1 million mark for the first time since the start of the pandemic, in a sign of a better than feared improvement in the labor market as of late.

New jobless claims were at 963,000 for the week ended Aug. 8, or better than the 1.1 million expected. Thursday’s report ended what had been a previous 20-week streak that new claims totaled more than 1 million, with tens of millions of Americans put out of work during the coronavirus pandemic and forced business closures that ensued.

Continuing claims, which are reported on a one-week lag, also fell to a pandemic-era low of 15.486 million, dipping below 16 million for the first time during the pandemic period. This metric, which captures the number of individuals still receiving unemployment insurance benefits, has improved in seven of the last eight weeks’ worth of reports.

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7:18 a.m. ET Thursday: Stock futures struggle for direction

Here were the main moves in markets, as of 7:18 a.m. ET:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,367.5, down 2.5 points, or 0.07%
Dow futures (YM=F): 27,857.00, down 9 points, or 0.03%
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 11,130.00, up 4 points, or 0.04%
Crude (CL=F): -$0.03 (-0.07%) to $42.64 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): -$0.40 (-0.02%) to $1,948.60 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): -1.1 bps to yield 0.675%

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6:03 p.m. ET Wednesday: Stock futures hug the flat line

Here were the main moves in equity markets, as of 6:03 p.m. ET:

S&P 500 futures (ES=F): 3,369.5, down 0.5 points, or 0.01%
Dow futures (YM=F): 27,868.00, up 2 points, or 0.01%
Nasdaq futures (NQ=F): 11,123.5, down 2.5 points, or 0.02%

A trader walks in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 26, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City. - Wall Street stocks surged early May 26, 2020 on optimism about coronavirus vaccines as the New York Stock Exchange resumed physical floor trading for the first time since late March. About five minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.3 percent at 25,023.76. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.0 percent to 3,013.04, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.6 percent to 9,468.96.The gains came after a ceremony presided over by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who wore a mask as he rung the opening bell to signal the start of the day for traders, also clad in masks and separated by plexiglas. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

A trader walks in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 26, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

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