BY THE NUMBERS
Dow futures were pointing to a gain at Thursday's open after blue chips rose for a third session in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.6% Wednesday on reported progress on U.S. coronavirus stimulus talks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also finished higher. While the Dow remained down 5% in 2020, the S&P 500 was up 1.4% and the Nasdaq was up 19% this year.
On Thursday's economic calendar, initial jobless claims are expected to exceed 1 million for the 17th straight week. The Labor Department's 8:30 a.m. ET report is expected to show 1.3 million in new unemployment benefits filings last week, the same as the prior week. (CNBC)
Shares of Twitter jumped 2% in Thursday's premarket trading after the social media network delivered strong user growth in the second quarter. The results come one week after Twitter suffered a serious hack compromising the accounts of major politicians and CEOs. (CNBC)
* Republicans want Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to testify at Monday's House antitrust hearing (CNBC)
Shares of Southwest Airlines gained about 1% in the premarket. The Dallas-based carrier posted a net loss of $915 million and it warned that air travel demand will remain weak without a coronavirus vaccine. American Airlines (AAL) saw its shares jump over 1.5% in premarket trading after the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier posted a $2.1 billion net loss in the second quarter. (CNBC)
Skyrocketing shares of Tesla added another nearly 5% in Thursday's premarket after the electric auto maker booked its fourth straight quarter of profits, which means it can now be considered for inclusion in the S&P 500 index. Second-quarter earnings and revenue beat estimates. On Tesla's post-earnings call, CEO Elon Musk said the company will build its newest gigafactory near Austin, Texas. (CNBC)
* Here's what every major Wall Street analyst said about Tesla's earnings (CNBC Pro)
Shares of Dow-stock Microsoft fell more than 2% in the premarket after the software and cloud giant warned on revenue outlook. In the second quarter, Microsoft issued better-than-expected earnings and revenue, saying the increase in home-based workers boosted its cloud computing business. However, the pandemic slowed sales to small businesses and slowed ad revenue at its LinkedIn unit. (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
Senate Republicans announced Wednesday evening a "fundamental agreement" with White House negotiators on how to move forward with a new relief bill. The legislation — which Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants to keep under $1 trillion — would serve as a starting point in talks with House Democrats, who passed a $3.4 trillion coronavirus relief bill in May. (CNBC)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told CNBC's "Mad Money" that additional financial aid to Americans is needed to support the economy, including an extension of the federal $600 per week boost to state unemployment benefits. Republicans, who have generally wanted to let that jobless program expire at the end of the month, are considering an extension through year-end but at a drastically reduced level of $100 per week. (CNBC)
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that racial-injustice protests over the police killing of George Floyd "presumably triggered a broader relaxation" of coronavirus mitigation efforts, a substantial increase in travel, and increased gatherings on the nation's beaches and in packed bars. He also said officials are "monitoring and aggressively acting to control the infection in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida." (CNBC)
* FEMA chief says coronavirus hot spots may face PPE shortages (CNBC)
California has reported a record spike in coronavirus cases and its more than 409,000 total passed New York as the U.S. state with the most confirmed infections since the pandemic began. However, New York's over 72,000 deaths are by far the highest total in the country and nine times more than California's total fatalities. (AP)
* New York Gov. Cuomo urges Trump to sign executive order mandating masks (CNBC)
Nationally, new infections spiked above 70,000 again Tuesday and deaths topped 1,000 for the second straight day as cumulative U.S. infections approached 4 million with more than 143,000 fatalities. Global cases totaled 15.2 million with deaths approaching 624,000, as of this morning. New worldwide cases Wednesday surged to a record-breaking 279,700. (Johns Hopkins & Covid Tracking Project)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) raised its stake in Bank of America (BAC) to 11.3% from 10.9%, according to an SEC filing. The new shares were purchased this week for an average price of $23.99 per share.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) beat estimates by 5 cents with adjusted quarterly earnings of 40 cents per share, with the restaurant chain's revenue slightly above analyst forecasts. Same-restaurant sales fell 9.8%, smaller than the 11.9% decline that analysts had predicted.
AT&T (T) beat estimates by 4 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of 83 cents per share. Revenue was in line with forecasts. The company said the Covid-19 pandemic impacted results across all its businesses.
Homebuilder PulteGroup (PHM) beat estimates by 28 cents a share, with quarterly earnings of $1.15 per share. Revenue topped estimates as well, helped by low mortgage rates and a shortage of existing home inventories.
AutoNation (AN), the auto dealer giant, earned an adjusted $1.41 per share, well above the consensus estimate of 37 cents, with revenue also above forecasts.
Chemical maker Dow Inc. (DOW) said it would implement a restructuring that would see it cut 6% of its global workforce and exit unprofitable segments, saving it $300 million annually.
Unilever (UN, UL) saw sales drop less than expected during the second quarter, thanks to a strong performance in the consumer product company's North American market. Sales fell just 0.3%, less than the 4.3% decline that analysts had predicted, although it was the first decline in quarterly sales for Unilever since 2004.
Whirlpool (WHR) earned an adjusted $2.15 per share for the second quarter, more than doubling the $1.00 consensus estimate. Revenue also beat forecasts, with the appliance maker noting recovery across all its regions as the quarter came to a close in June. Whirlpool also raised its full-year revenue outlook.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) lost $1.05 per share for its second quarter, wider than the 74 cent loss that analysts were expecting, while the casino operator's revenue also missed estimates. Las Vegas Sands saw a 97% drop in revenue from a year earlier as the pandemic kept visitors away from its gambling operations in Las Vegas and Macau.
Align Technology (ALGN) lost 35 cents per share, wider than the 5 cent loss that analysts had predicted. The Invisalign teeth straightening maker beat on revenue. Results were hurt by coronavirus-related dental practice closures. However, Align said dental are reopening in all regions and practitioners are also increasingly using virtual tools.
New York Times (NYT) is buying podcast producer Serial Productions, to expand its podcasting operations. Terms weren't disclosed but the Wall Street Journal reports the deal could be worth as much as $50 million.
WATERCOOLER
Bill Gates, whose foundation has donated millions to coronavirus vaccine and treatment research, denied conspiracy theories that accuse him of wanting to use Covid-19 vaccines to implant tracking devices in people. Gates felt the need "get the truth out" after a poll from Yahoo News/YouGov that found 28% of U.S. adults actually believed those debunked tales. (CNBC)