Surge in online orders boosts Target results; iconic NY steakhouse goes digital

Sectors of the U.S. economy are starting to show signs of a rebound, with more retailers reporting strong quarterly sales and weekly mortgage applications pointing to a remarkable recovery in the housing market. Later Wednesday, Wall Street will get a more detailed look at the Federal Reserve’s most recent decision, with the release of the central bank’s meeting minutes. The Fed has rolled out historic aid and lending programs in an effort to prop up small businesses and spending. 

This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks. 

• Global cases: More than 4.91 million
• Global deaths: At least 323,653
• U.S. cases: More than 1.52 million 
• U.S. deaths: At least 91,938

The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

7:43 am ET — Target and Lowe’s continued a strong week of retail earnings reports, posting quarterly sales growth of 10.8{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and 11.2{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, respectively. 

Target, in particular, saw a surge in online orders. Sales at brick-and-mortar stores open at least 12 months rose just 0.9{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} during the quarter on an annual basis. Online sales, in contrast, soared 141{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. 

Lowe’s likely benefited from coronavirus stay-at-home orders, with Americans keeping indoors and turning to home improvement projects. The 11.2{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} growth in same-store sales for the quarter blew Wall Street estimates out of the water. —Sara Salinas

7:16 am ET — Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn, New York is now offering delivery for the first time in its more than 130-year history. To make that happen, the iconic restaurant has partnered with delivery app Caviar, owned by Square. In another first, the steakhouse will accept credit cards.

“To best serve our customers, delivery was the best option for us,” Peter Luger Steak House General Manager David Berson told CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange.” “As far as the best safety practice, credit cards only was the clear choice to us.”

Peter Luger’s dining room remains closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. But in addition to delivery, customers can order and pick-up at the Brooklyn location. —Matthew Belvedere 

6:38 am ET — Germany has tightened up rules on meat processing plants, government sources told Reuters, after a number of coronavirus outbreaks in the country were linked to the food sector.

New rules agreed upon will ban the subcontracting of meatpacking work through agencies, meaning that people working in the processing facilities will have to be employed by the company itself, a move that will likely push up wage costs for the industry.

The majority of workers in the meat production industry are migrants, with many coming from Romania. More than 600 coronavirus cases have reportedly been among plant workers, government sources told Reuters. –Holly Ellyatt

Read CNBC’s previous coronavirus live coverage here: Brazil records largest single-day spike in cases; Russia’s top 300,000