October 8, 2020

The U.S. stock markets climbed yesterday after President Trump tweeted support for a smaller stimulus package to help support airlines.  43 commercial airlines have failed this year, because of the pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 530 points, for its best one-day gain since July.  The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also rose, 1.7% and 1.9% respectively. 

On the fight against Coronavirus, Regeneron filed with the FDA for Emergency Use Approval of their antibody drug after being used by President Trump. If the Emergency Use Approval is granted the government has committed to providing doses at no cost to Americans.  Shares of Regeneron were up over 4% in pre-market trading Thursday.

Today the weekly initial jobless claims for the week ending October 3rd was reported at 840,000, with expectations at 825,000.  Over the past five weeks, initial claims have largely plateaued around 850,000 per week, which is nearly four times the average from 2019.

Before the markets open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all positive.