The S&P and Dow have been treading water on either side of the flat line as the market takes a pause from its recent snapback rally. The payroll plunge analysts expect for Friday's jobs report appears in line with the April drop reported by ADP this morning, the historic highs for jobless claims, a big vehicle sales drop that likely parallels declines across the April retail sales components, and big drops for consumer and producer sentiment.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In U.S. data, ADP reported private payrolls plunged 20.24M in April.
In New York, which has become the "epicenter" of the outbreak in the U.S., Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his daily COVID-19 briefing, during which he reported 232 coronavirus-related deaths in the state yesterday vs. 230 virus deaths the previous day.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Disney (DIS) were moving lower in after-hours trading last night and pre-market trading this morning after the media giant reported worse than expected earnings in the previous quarter and estimated that the COVID-19 impacts on income from continuing operations before income taxes across all of its businesses was as much as $1.4B. Disney also announced that it will forgo payment of a semi-annual cash dividend for the first half of fiscal 2020 due to COVID-19, calling this "one of several measures the company has taken in the wake of the pandemic." Disney shares reversed higher in early trading, but have moved lower again to be down fractionally near midday.
General Motors (GM) shares are 4% higher after the auto maker post better than expected first quarter sales and profits.
CVS Health (CVS) also reported better than expected sales and earnings in the first quarter and backed its fiscal year adjusted EPS and cash flow from operations guidance ranges, sending its stock up about 1% in early afternoon trading.
Video game makers Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Electronic Arts (EA) each issued earnings reports last night that Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said highlight favorable gaming trends and engagement strength that was "broad-based, cross-genre and cross-platform." Nowak, like Jefferies analyst Alex Giaimo, prefers Activision Blizzard shares over those of EA, citing the strength in "Call of Duty" and its other key franchises.
Meanwhile, shares of Beyond Meat (BYND) are up 22% at midday after the alternative protein products maker posted what DA Davidson analyst Brian Holland described as "much better than expected" Q1 results.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Office Depot (ODP), which rose 16% after it reported better than expected quarterly results, withdrew its fiscal 2020 guidance, and temporarily suspended share buybacks and its dividend. Also higher after reporting quarterly results were Shopify (SHOP) and MercadoLibre (MELI), which gained a respective 6% and 20%.
Among the notable losers was Inogen (INGN), which declined 19% after it reported quarterly results and withdrew its guidance for fiscal 2020. Also lower after reporting quarterly results were Pinterest (PINS) and Mattel (MAT), which fell 12% and 4%, respectively.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 1.85, or 0.01%, to 23,881.24, the Nasdaq was up 99.47, or 1.13%, to 8,908.59, and the S&P 500 was up 3.98, or 0.14%, to 2,872.42.
Disney
+0.16 (+0.16%)
General Motors
+0.97 (+4.57%)
acquired by MSFT
+3.61 (+5.27%)
Electronic Arts
-5.71 (-4.77%)
CVS Health
+0.66 (+1.08%)
Beyond Meat
+23.11 (+23.08%)
ODP Corporation
+0.29 (+15.59%)
Shopify
+37.81 (+5.50%)
MercadoLibre
+116.5 (+18.78%)
Inogen
-10.21 (-19.37%)
-2.27 (-10.89%)
Mattel
-0.45 (-5.23%)