Futures for the major averages were pointing to losses in early trading, which would have extended the slide yesterday that was attributed largely to the gloomy outlook from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. However, stocks came off their lows and moved into positive ground across the board by the afternoon as investors, politicians and everyone else continue to debate how and when non-essential businesses can begin to reopen. President Donald Trump has applauded a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision striking down a coronavirus lockdown order, adding fuel to the partisan nationwide debate over how soon to reopen states that have been closed since March.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In U.S. data, initial jobless claims fell 195,000 to a higher than expected 2.98M in the week ended May 9, leaving the four-week moving average at about 3.62M. However, the state of Connecticut has tweeted that it overstated jobless claims last week. There were 29,846 not seasonally adjusted claims, as opposed to the 298,680 that had been reported. That is a 268,834 overstatement for the week ended May 9.
The trade price indexes revealed big April declines that accompanied this week's huge drops for CPI and PPI last month. Import prices fell 2.6%, while export prices fell 3.3%. The export price drop is the biggest on record going back to 1989, while the import price slide is the steepest since the start of 2015.
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo reported 157 COVID-19 deaths in the state yesterday vs. 166 the day before. Cuomo noted that the stimulus package proposed by the U.S. House is a "good bill," adding that New York state remains in a "$61B hole."
TOP NEWS: Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) and Goldman Sachs (GS) were in the spotlight after Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino said via Twitter last night that speculation is growing about a possible merger between the two banks. In a research note to investors, JPMorgan analyst Vivek Juneja argued that the media speculation of a possible merger is "unfounded," noting that any bank acquisition by Wells Fargo is banned by law as the company already exceeds the 10% deposit market share limit.
Cisco (CSCO) shares were 4.5% higher after the network gear giant reported fiscal Q3 results that beat reduced expectations.
Meanwhile, shares of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) rose 4.7% after the cruise ship operator reported steeper than expected losses in the first quarter and said it believes it can "weather an unlikely scenario of over 18 months of suspended voyages."
In other earnings news, shares of SmileDirectClub (SDC) slid 9.3% after the company posted Q1 results last night that JPMorgan analyst Robbie Marcus described as "decent." Less bullish, BofA analyst Michael Ryskin downgraded SmileDirectClub two notches, to Underperform from Buy, with a price target of $7, down from $10, following the company's earnings report.
After abstracts were posted for the upcoming virtual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists, or ASCO, Wall Street analysts weighed in with some of the companies that they viewed as "winners" on the heels of the first looks at the clinical data that will be discussed at the meeting of cancer doctors. Analyst commentary, and the moves in the stocks, points to Allogene (ALLO) being among the winners while the reactions to data from MacroGenics (MGNX) and CytomX appear to be more lukewarm.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) is poised to announce plans to construct an advanced chip factory in Arizona as U.S. concerns mount over dependence on Asia for silicon chips.
Additionally, Apple (AAPL) confirmed to Bloomberg that it acquired NextVR, a startup that provides sports and other content for virtual-reality headsets.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Laureate Education (LAUR), which rose 8.6% after CFO Jean-Jacques Charhon disclosed the purchase of 101,000 shares of common stock in the company. Also higher were Wix.com (WIX) and Oceaneering (OII), which gained a respective 14.1% and 2.8% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was CytomX Therapeutics (CTMX), which slid 36.1% after H.C. Wainwright analyst Robert Burns cut his price target on the stock to $12 from $16, saying that the company's abstracts at ASCO leave more questions than answers. Also lower were Virtusa (VRTU) and Stratasys (SSYS), which fell 20.7% and 7.4%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 377.37, or 1.62%, to 23,625.34, the Nasdaq gained 80.56, or 0.91%, to 8,943.72, and the S&P 500 advanced 32.50, or 1.15%, to 2,852.50.
Wells Fargo
+1.545 (+6.86%)
Goldman Sachs
+2.54 (+1.48%)
Cisco
+1.96 (+4.68%)
Norwegian Cruise Line
+0.45 (+4.37%)
SmileDirectClub
-0.685 (-8.90%)
Allogene Therapeutics
+11.1 (+35.82%)
MacroGenics
-1.57 (-5.92%)
TSMC
+1.18 (+2.32%)
Apple
+2.21 (+0.72%)
Laureate Education
+0.655 (+8.53%)
Wix.com
+23.2 (+13.96%)
Oceaneering
+0.105 (+2.26%)
CytomX Therapeutics
-5.23 (-36.24%)
Virtusa
-6.55 (-20.63%)
Stratasys
-1.19 (-7.28%)