NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stock futures are rebounding after the U.S. government said nearly 3.3 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week, a dramatic indication of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the U.S. economy.
While the surge in weekly applications for benefits far exceeded the previous record set in 1982, the figure wasn’t as bad as some had feared.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down nearly 500 points just before the jobless claims number was released. Just minutes later the loss had narrowed to around 200 points.
The U.S. stock market notched its first back-to-back gains Tuesday and Wednesday on optimism surrounding actions by the Federal Reserve to support credit markets and the approval in the Senate of a $2.2 trillion economic aid package.
The S&P 500 is still down 27% from the high set on Feb. 19, and traders expect the market to remain volatile until the number of new cases of coronavirus levels off.
Filings for unemployment aid generally reflect the pace of layoffs. The pace of layoffs is sure to accelerate as the U.S. economy sinks into a recession..
