Stock Market Today: Stocks slip as global rally eases; jobs data on deck

Check back for updates throughout the trading day

U.S. equity futures edged lower Thursday, while Treasury yields and the dollar inched higher, as investors looked to an easing in global stocks following a series of records in major markets around the world.

Updated at 8:39 AM EDT

Job cracks

Around 231,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, the Labor Department reported, the largest tally since August of last year and one of the first notable cracks in the otherwise resilient job market.

Benchmark 10-year note yields eased 2 basis points to 4.494% following the data, while the dollar index pared earlier gains to 105.551

Stock futures also improved, with the S&P 500 called just 3 points lower and the Dow looking at a 50 point decline.

US jobless claims grew 22k to 231k last week. The inured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2%. Continued claims grew 17k to 1.785 mil.

Last week's initial claims total is up 2.7% YoY and the highest since Aug 2023.#ui #unemployment (US Dept of Labor) https://t.co/eT6a6xoJwA pic.twitter.com/OxuNerGF2H— MTS Insights (@MTSInsights) May 9, 2024

Updated at 7:25 AM EDT

Maxed out

Warner Bros Discovery  (WBD)  shares moved lower after the media group posted a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss and softer advertising revenue.

WBD, which owns the Max streaming service as well as a Hollywood studio unit, saw revenue fall 7% from a year earlier to $9.96 billion, with an overall loss of 40 cents per share. 

Shares in the group were marked 1.92% lower in premarket trading to indicate an opening bell price of $7.63 each following the earnings release.

Warner Bros. Discovery double miss:

CEO: "We delivered meaningful growth in our streaming business with a nice acceleration in ad sales, generating nearly $90 million in positive EBITDA for the quarter"$WBD: -1.9% PM pic.twitter.com/QaZR4Aq5Iu— The Transcript (@TheTranscript_) May 9, 2024

Updated at 7:14 AM EDT

Bank of England

The Bank of England kept its key lending rate unchanged at 5.25%, the highest since 2008, for a sixth consecutive session following a 7-2 vote of its nine-member rate-setting committee Thursday in London.

The widely expected decision also included update growth and inflation forecasts that suggest the consumer-price index will fall to the bank's 2% target in February of next year.

Bank of England hold interest rates at 5.25%, their highest level for 16 years - follow live to see what it means for you https://t.co/HyHh2A2PmV— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) May 9, 2024

Stock Market Today

Stocks ended little changed on Wednesday, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its run of consecutive session gains to seven, amid easing Treasury yields and solid corporate earnings.

A solid auction of $42 billion in new 10-year notes Wednesday, which drew bids of nearly $105 billion and upsized interest from foreign buyers, added to the downside moves in yields and provided further support for stocks.

Overnight markets showed 10-year notes rise to 4.514%, however, with 2-year notes pegged at 4.851%, ahead of weekly jobless claims data prior to the opening bell.

The Treasury will sell $25 billion in 30-year bonds later in the session, with results expected at around 1 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time.

The U.S. dollar index, meanwhile, strengthened to 105.682 against a basket of its global peers as the yen retreated to 155.92 amid renewed speculation of currency market intervention from the Ministry of Finance.

Global oil prices were back on the rise, as well, following better-than-expected trade data from China, which showed an 8.4% increase in imports into the world's biggest energy market over the month of April.

Brent crude futures contacts for July delivery, the global pricing benchmark, rose 45 cents to $84.03 per barrel while WTI futures for June delivery added 55 cents to $79.54 per barrel.

On Wall Street, Tesla  (TSLA)  shares were back in the red, falling 1.1% in premarket dealing, following a report that the carmaker is accelerating its recent round of job cuts with further reductions in China.

Robinhood Markets  (HOOD)  shares leaped 5.05% after the online brokerage reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue thanks in part to soaring volumes in cryptocurrency trading.

Airbnb  (ABNB)  shares slumped 8.6% after the online vacation-rental group forecast muted near-term revenue, which offset a stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings report. 

On Wall Street, futures tied to the S&P 500, which is up 3.02% for the month, suggest an opening-bell decline of around 11 points while those linked to the Dow Jones Industrial are indicating a 56-point pullback.

The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 45 points lower in premarket trading with Intel  (INTC) , Nvidia  (NVDA)  and Apple  (AAPL)  the most-active big-capitalization stocks.

More Wall Street Analysts:

• Analyst unveils new Nike price target ahead of big summer for sports
• Analysts weigh in on Google-parent Alphabet’s stock after cloud event
• Analysts revamp Disney stock price target after proxy fight

In overseas markets, Britain's FTSE 100 hit a record and was last marked 0.04% higher in early London trading ahead of the Bank of England's May rate decision later in the session.

Economists expect the bank to hold its key rate steady for a sixth consecutive month at 5.25%, the highest since 2008, while possibly signaling for a summertime rate cut as inflation cools and the economy continues to weaken. 

Europe's Stoxx 600 slipped 0.12% in Frankfurt, after hitting an all-time high of 515.77 points during the Wednesday session.

Overnight in Asia, the better-than-expected April trade data, which included an overall surplus of $72.35 billion, helped lift China stocks into modest session gains, although the regionwide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark ended 0.35% lower.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was also in the red, falling 0.34% on the session to close at 38,073.98 points.

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