Dow futures up 200, jobs report looms, biggest economic ‘shock’ ever

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Shares of companies that would benefit most if the U.S. economy reopened led premarket gains Friday morning. Airline stocks advanced with United, American, Delta and Southwest up 2.1{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, 1.1{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, 1.9{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and 1.5{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, respectively. Hotel operator Marriott added 1.8{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} while cruise line company Carnival Corp. rose a similar 1.9{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. Simon Property Group, the largest shopping mall operator in the U.S., climbed 2.6{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and Kohl’s rose 2.5{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. U.S. stock futures were up roughly 1{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} in the premarket. — Franck

Wall Street firm D.A. Davidson upgraded shares of Uber to buy from neutral following ride-hailing company’s quarterly earnings. “We believe UBER is well-positioned to leverage its multi-product platform (Rides, Eats, and increasingly Grocery) to emerge post-pandemic in a significantly stronger competitive position,” D.A. Davidson senior research analyst Tom White told clients. Uber reported first-quarter results Thursday, including revenue of $3.54 billion and a net loss of $2.9 billion, the company’s biggest loss in three quarters. Despite the large losses, White said Uber has better “cost discipline.” “UBER is also getting leaner, with recent cost actions/ market exits set to reduce annualized fixed costs by $1B and help ensure adj. EBITDA profits are delayed only slightly (to early 2021 in our view) despite COVID,” White added.  The firm also raised its price target on Uber to $39 per share from $23.50 per share. Shares of Uber jumped more than 7{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} in premarket trading on Friday.  —Fitzgerald

Investors are bracing for a dismal U.S. jobs report Friday but Goldman Sachs economists point out the labor market’s rebound could be just as swift as its losses. “Over the last 50 years, the three recessions with the highest share of temporary layoffs were followed by the fastest labor market recoveries,” Goldman Sachs’ Jan Hatzius said in a note. Goldman expects U.S. nonfarm payrolls dropped by 24 million in April, slightly more than the consensus estimate of 21.5 million. —Imbert, Bloom

Shares of big technology stocks moved higher in premarket trading on Friday, building on recent strength the group has seen during the rebound from the coronavirus market rout. Shares of Microsoft ticked up 1{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} before the opening bell. Apple and Amazon rose 1.5{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and 0.5{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, respectively. Facebook also jumped 1{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and Netflix shares rose about 0.4{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. —Fitzgerald

The U.S. economy is expected to have lost a record 21.5 million jobs last month, according to Dow Jones, as the coronavirus pandemic sparks massive layoffs and a near-complete halt of all economic activity. That would be a record loss for a single month. The unemployment rate is also forecast to have surged to 16{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} — which would be the highest since 1939 — from just 4.4{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. “This is the biggest and most acute shock that we’ve seen in post-war history. It’s a dramatic loss of output in a very short period of time,” said Michelle Meyer, head of U.S. economics at Bank of America. The report is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. —Imbert, Domm

U.S. stock futures rose sharply on Friday even as investors awaited what could be the ugliest monthly jobs report ever. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up more than 200 points, or about 1{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures also gained 1{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} each. Wall Street was headed for its first weekly gain in three after sharp gains in the previous session put the Nasdaq Composite index in positive territory for 2020. —Imbert

With reporting from Patti Domm and Michael Bloom. 

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