The major averages had a mixed day as the S&P and Dow took a pause but the tech-heavy Nasdaq continued its recent 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. Cuomo noted in his daily briefing that the CDC believes the virus came through Europe earlier than was known.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Disney (DIS) ended the session fractionally lower 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."
In other earnings news, Shopify (SHOP) gained 6.6% after reporting quarterly results, saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift of purchasing habits to e-commerce. Today's gains for Shopify pushed the company's market capitalization higher than that of Royal Bank of Canada (RY), making Shopify the top Canadian stock in terms of market cap.
General Motors (GM) shares were almost 3% 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.
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, Sky News reported that Goldman Sachs (GS) is in talks to purchase a large portfolio of company stakes being sold by Invesco (IVZ).
Additionally, the New York Times reported Gap (GPS) plans to reopen up to 800 of its stores in North America by the end of May as retailers are agitating to return to business after temporarily closing down amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Office Depot (ODP), which rose 15.1% 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 Beyond Meat (BYND) and MercadoLibre (MELI), which gained a respective 26% and 19.6%.
Among the notable losers after reporting quarterly results were Pinterest (PINS) and Mattel (MAT), which fell 15% and 1.3%, respectively.
INDEXES: The Dow fell 218.45, or 0.91%, to 23,664.64, the Nasdaq gained 45.27, or 0.51%, to 8,854.39, and the S&P 500 declined 20.02, or 0.7%, to 2,848.42.
