Stocks gain and oil prices spike; jobless claims cross six millionDow +469.93 at 21413.50, Nasdaq +126.73 at 7486.66, S&P +56.40 at 2526.90 [BRIEFING.COM] The stock market ended a two-day skid on Thursday, and oil prices spiked 24% on hopes for a truce to the global price war. Stocks rose even as weekly initial claims doubled to a record 6.6 million, depicting the dire economic situation caused by the coronavirus. The S&P 500 (+2.3%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (+2.2%) set the pace with gains over 2.0%, followed by the Nasdaq Composite (+1.7%) and Russell 2000 (+1.3%). At one point, WTI crude was up more than 34% after President Trump said Saudi Arabia and Russia could soon cut production by about 10 million barrels per day after speaking with both nations. The president later said production cuts could even be as high as 15 million barrels per day. WTI crude futures settled higher by 23.9%, or $4.86, to $25.18/BBL. Although more discussions are reportedly needed between Saudi Arabia, Russia, and possibly even the U.S. to reach an agreement, news that Saudi Arabia is asking for an emergency OPEC+ meeting supported the market's price-truce hopes. Conversely, some investors were wary that the lack of oil demand would still weigh on the industry despite attempts to control supply. Nevertheless, the bounce in oil was a much-needed reprieve for companies within the S&P 500 energy sector (+9.1%), which led all sectors in gains by a wide margin. The utilities sector (+3.2%) was next in line, while the consumer discretionary sector (+0.4%) was today's laggard. Specifying the jobs data, initial claims spiked by 3.341 million to a seasonally adjusted 6.648 million (Briefing.com consensus 2,800,000) for the week ending March 28. Continuing claims for the week ending March 21 reached 3.029 million, which is the highest level since July 6, 2013. The positive price action in the market suggested that the shocking numbers may already have been priced in. Separately, shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance ($WBA 40.32, -2.71, -6.3%) dropped 6%, as the company's cautious tone regarding its outlook outweighed its better-than-expected quarterly results. Note, the Dow component's fiscal quarter ended on Feb. 29, which was before the economic shutdowns in March. U.S. Treasuries finished mixed and little changed. The 2-yr yield increased one basis point to 0.23%, while the 10-yr yield declined one basis point to 0.63%. The U.S. Dollar Index increased 0.5% to 100.19. Reviewing Thursday's economic data: For the week ending March 28, initial claims spiked by 3,341,000 to a seasonally adjusted 6,648,000 (Briefing.com consensus 2,800,000). Continuing claims for the week ending March 21 spiked by 1,245,000 to 3,029,000, which is the highest level since July 6, 2013.The key takeaway from the report is that it speaks to how bad things are right now for so many people due to the sudden economic stop, but, unfortunately, the report itself likely still doesn't reflect the full extent of the layoff picture.The trade deficit narrowed to $45.3 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$46.0 billion) in January from an upwardly revised -$48.6 billion ( from -$48.9 bln) in December.The key takeaway from the report is that it featured a decline in both exports and imports; however, the understanding that this is a January report (i.e. doesn't capture the brunt of the coronavirus impact) will diminish market interest in it.Factory orders were unchanged m/m in February (Briefing.com consensus +0.3%) following an unrevised 0.5% decline in January. Shipments were down 0.2% m/m in February after decreasing 0.6% in January.The key takeaway from the report is that it showed business spending was relatively soft in February, which is expected to give way to an extremely sharp contraction in March. Looking ahead, investors will receive the Employment Situation Report for March and the ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for March on Friday. Nasdaq Composite: -16.6%S&P 500: -21.8%Dow Jones Industrial Average: -25.0%Russell 2000: -34.9% Market Snapshot Dow21413.50+469.93(2.24%)Nasdaq7486.66+126.73(1.72%)SP 5002526.90+56.40(2.28%)10-yr Note -4/320.621NYSEAdv 1717 Dec 1178 Vol 1.3 blnNasdaqAdv 1818 Dec 1413 Vol 3.6 bln Industry Watch Strong: Energy, Utilities, Consumer StaplesWeak: Consumer Discretionary Moving the Market -- Stocks end two-day skid, close near session highs-- Oil prices spike 24% after President Trump said he hopes and expects Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut oil production-- Weekly jobless claims doubled to a record 6.648 millionECONOMIC EVENTS: In U.S. data, initial jobless claims spiked 3.34M to 6.65M in the week ended March 28. The trade deficit narrowed 12.2% to $39.9B in February, which was more than expected as imports tumbled 2.5% to $247.5B and exports dropped 0.4% to $207.5B. Meanwhile, the latest data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 965,246 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 49,236 deaths due to the disease. TOP NEWS: The 20 best performers on the S&P 500 near midday were all oil & gas explorers and producers or chemical makers levered to oil after President Trump tweeted, "Just spoke to my friend MBS (Crown Prince) of Saudi Arabia, who spoke with President Putin of Russia, & I expect & hope that they will be cutting back approximately 10 Million Barrels, and maybe substantially more which, if it happens, will be GREAT for the oil & gas industry!" Following Trump's tweet, a spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, said Putin had not spoken to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has not confirmed an oil production cut, but did call for an "urgent meeting" of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia, according to state-run media, Bloomberg added. Shares of Starbucks ($SBUX) are up 3% on Thursday after its competitor in China, Luckin Coffee ($LK), announced that it is probing "fabricated transactions" that make its prior guidance unreliable and prompt an investigation of its financial reports. Meanwhile, shares of the Chinese coffee retailer have cratered, dropping 73% near midday. Dow member Walgreens Boots Alliance ($WBA) reported better than expected earnings and revenue for its second fiscal quarter, but also said it is "not in a position to accurately forecast the future impacts" of the COVID-19 situation given the many rapidly changing variables related to the pandemic. Ford ($F) announced that its overall Q1 sales declined 12.5% in the U.S. "amid the nation's outbreak of coronavirus and multiple state stay-at-home orders." The company's decline, based mainly on the halt of sales and production in March, mirrors similar announcements from peers GM ($GM) and FCA US ($FCAU) yesterday. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Criteo ($CRTO), which rose 18% after the company lowered its first quarter guidance and withdrew its fiscal 2020 guidance. Additionally, Citi analyst Nicholas Jones upgraded Criteo to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $14, down from $16, after resuming coverage of the name. Also higher was PVH Corp. ($PVH), which gained 4% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was Zoom Video ($ZM), which is down 8% in reaction to two "primary items," namely a surge in security-related headlines and a reaction to RingCentral ($RNG) launching its own video solution into the market. Also lower was Shopify ($SHOP), which fell 10% after it suspended financial expectations for fiscal 2020 amid COVID-19 uncertainty.Source: (Briefing.com)(theFly.com) Disclosure: I may trade in the ticker symbols mentioned, both long or short. My articles represent my personal opinion and analysis and should not be taken as investment advice. Readers should do their own research before making decisions to buy or sell securities. Trading and investing include risks, including loss of principal. If you liked this article, please click the LIKE (thumbs up) button. Feel free to leave any comments, question, or opinions. (Sign-up if you haven't already done so). Follow us/bookmark us and check back occasionally for additional articles or comments on our page... Wild Tiger Trading - start/main page.