Stocks set to fall again, virus concern, jobless claims ahead

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The CNBC All-America Economic Survey shows Vice President Joe Biden with a nine-point lead on President Donald Trump, but the incumbent still gets higher marks about his economic policies. Voters gave Trump a six-point lead when asked about policies for jobs and the economy, but that was the only category where the Republican led. Biden’s best category was racial equality, where he led by 25{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. —Pound

Shares of Virgin Galactic popped as much as 2{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} in premarket trading after the space tourism company announced it planned to conduct the second glide flight test of its spacecraft in New Mexico. The company said that, given the flight is scheduled during market hours, it will not provide updates on social media during the flight but instead will send an update about the flights results after the market closes. The glide flight tests are a precursor to it beginning rocket-powered flights, which Virgin Galactic has completed before at its test facility in California. —Sheetz

Shares of airlines and cruise lines struggled ahead of the opening bell. United Airlines dropped by 5.8{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, while American and Delta both fell more than 4{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}. Meanwhile, Norwegian Cruise Line plunged 7.3{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, while Royal Caribbean and Carnival lost 6.2{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and 6.7{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, respectively. The acceleration of coronavirus cases in some states, and the quarantine for some travelers ordered in northeastern states, clouded the outlook for the travel industry’s recovery. —Pound

Shares of KB Home slid more than 14{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} in premarket trading after the company reported second quarter results. The homebuilder did beat earnings estimates, but revenue came up short and the company said sales fell 11{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} year-over-year. Deliveries were down 10{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} and net orders dropped 57{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} as Covid-19 hit business. “The prolonged stay-at-home public health orders, resulting economic shutdown and our conservative approach to navigating the uncertain environment significantly impacted our orders during the quarter. However, following a low point in April, we are very encouraged by the resilience of housing market demand,” said Jeffrey Mezger, KB Home chairman and CEO. –Stevens

The Labor Department will publish its weekly jobless report at 8:30 a.m. ET in what’s expected to be the 14th straight week with initial claims totaling more than 1 million. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate another 1.35 million American workers first-time claims during the seven-day period ended June 20. Though a reading of 1.35 million would mark a deceleration from the prior week’s 1.5 million, the figure is still far above any print seen during the pre-Covid era.
The jobless report will also come amid a spike in coronavirus infections in Florida, Texas, California and Arizona, a development that has spooked investors in recent sessions and sparked fears of even longer economic shutdown. — Franck

The U.S. saw on Wednesday its biggest one-day spike of coronavirus cases, with over 45,000 infections confirmed, according to NBC News. That breaks the previous record set in April by more than 9,000. The spike comes as states gradually reopen their economies and ease restrictions on social distancing. States such as California, Texas and Florida have reported record infection numbers recently. In Arizona, only 12{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} of intensive-care unit beds are available. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have issued quarantine orders for visitors coming from certain hotspot states.