Futures were pointing to a higher open for the market ahead of the release of the monthly jobs data as investors appeared to be positioning for a "not as bad as feared" report. What they got instead was a blowout as the economy was estimated to have added 2.5M jobs last month, in stark contrast to the consensus forecast for millions of job losses. President Trump took to Twitter first, then a podium at the White House, to share his view on the "really big jobs report."
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In U.S. data, nonfarm payrolls rose 2.5M in May, which was way better than Bloomberg's consensus forecast for a decline of 7.5M jobs. The reported unemployment rate of 13.3% in May was better then the consensus 19.0% forecast. In energy news, Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count is down rigs from last week to 284 with oil rigs down 16 to 206.
In other White House news, U.S. President Donald Trump said via Twitter that he has signed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act to "further improve" the program to help small businesses.
Meanwhile, the latest data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 6.68M confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1.88M in the U.S., and 392,321 deaths due to the disease. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo reported 42 virus deaths in the state yesterday versus 52 the previous day. Cuomo noted that the figure is "the lowest deaths since we started," adding New York also just saw the "lowest number of hospitalizations to date."
TOP NEWS: Shares of Slack Technologies (WORK) fell 14.2% after the company reported fiscal Q1 results last night. While "good," Mizuho analyst Gregg Moskowitz says they were "not nearly enough" given high expectations and the stock's valuation. The analyst, who maintains a Neutral rating on the shares, noted that net paid additions over the last month of the quarter slowed much more than was generally expected, and the company withdrew fiscal 2021 billings guidance due to COVID-19 uncertainty.
Gap (GPS) shares closed 1.4% higher after the retailer's report last night. Citi analyst Paul Lejuez noted Q1 was a weak quarter, as expected, with total sales down 43% due to store closings.
Elsewhere in retail, shares of GameStop (GME) fell 7.4% after the company said it projects Q1 revenue down 33%-35% from last year and that Daniel Kaufman resigned as Chief Transformation Officer, effective immediately.
IPO markets have begun to open back up, with five companies coming public today - Shift4 Payments (FOUR), Legend Biotech (LEGN), Dada Nexus (DADA), Applied Molecular Transport (AMTI) and Calliditas Therapeutics (CALT).
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca (AZN) said that results published in Science Immunology showed that its cancer drug Calquence reduced markers of inflammation and improved clinical outcomes of patients with severe COVID-19 disease.
Additionally, shares of GrubHub (GRUB) rose 5.2% after CNBC reported that Netherlands-based Just Eat Takeaway.com (TKAYY) and Germany-based Delivero Hero (DLVHF) have expressed interest in merging with GrubHub. The interest comes as antitrust concerns have clouded the chances of an Uber Technologies (UBER) acquisition of Grubhub, according to CNBC.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers are a number of companies that have been hardest hit by the pandemic shutdowns and stand to benefit as the economy reopens, including airlines American (AAL) and United (UAL), cruise operators Carnival (CCL), Norwegian (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) and mall owner Simon Property (SPG).
Conversely, the notable losers list includes a number of names that have been viewed as beneficiaries of the lockdowns and stay-at-home environment, such as Clorox (CLX), Campbell Soup (CPB) and Domino's Pizza (DPZ).
INDEXES: The Dow rose 829.16, or 3.15%, to 27,110.98, the Nasdaq gained 198.27, or 2.06%, to 9,814.08, and the S&P 500 advanced 81.58, or 2.62%, to 3,193.93.
Bought by CRM
-5.37 (-14.17%)
Gap
+0.23 (+1.90%)
GameStop
-0.285 (-6.40%)
Shift4 Payments
+ (+0.00%)
Legend Biotech
+ (+0.00%)
Dada Nexus
+ (+0.00%)
Applied Molecular Transport
+ (+0.00%)
Calliditas Therapeutics
+ (+0.00%)
AstraZeneca
-0.04 (-0.07%)
Use JTKWY
+3.3 (+5.74%)
Just Eat Takeaway.com
+ (+0.00%)
Delivery Hero
+ (+0.00%)
Uber
+0.745 (+2.05%)
American Airlines
+1.81 (+10.82%)
United Airlines
+3.41 (+8.73%)
Carnival
+3.085 (+16.68%)
Norwegian Cruise Line
+2.925 (+14.94%)
Royal Caribbean
+11.39 (+19.74%)
Simon Property
+11.27 (+14.71%)
Clorox
-6.535 (-3.20%)
Campbell Soup
-0.55 (-1.13%)
Domino's Pizza
-6.48 (-1.69%)