With jobless claims hitting their lowest point since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, signs increasingly point to a rapid economic recovery, which in turn has driven stock prices down. Most major groups in the S&P 500 slipped, with energy and tech stocks experiencing the largest declines. The Nasdaq 100 also underperformed significantly following the release of Thursday’s data.
While officially to be released on Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ upcoming employment report is expected to confirm that the U.S. was successful in adding over 1 million to the economy in the month of April. With coronavirus lockdown restrictions gradually being eased across numerous states, a growing number of Americans are managing to find new jobs.
Despite outperforming most other stocks since the initial covid outbreak, shares in vaccine makers also slid following the news of the latest employment statistics. Moderna Inc. incurred a slump due to its vaccine revenues falling short of estimates, while multiple vaccine makers suffered declines due to progress in the movement to waiver patent protection for covid shots.
Another big player that experienced a drop in share prices was Uber Technologies Inc. This is due to the ride-hailing service announcing that its recent spending on the recruitment of drivers is expected to impact short-term profit margins.
