U.S. stocks eked out a second consecutive day of gains as investors weighed a cloudy picture of the economy against U.S. businesses starting to slowly reopen after a period of stultifying coronavirus lockdowns.
California detailed initial steps to ease restrictions that have been in place for weeks to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Retailers including clothing stores, bookstores, sporting goods stores and florists can reopen for curbside pickup as soon as Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said. Other states including Florida also began allowing businesses.
Stocks also saw a modest boost from a rebound in oil prices. Crude oil prices also surged on Tuesday as they got a boost from optimism around ongoing production cuts and a recovery in demand as economies reopen. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, jumped 20.45%, or $4.17, to settle at $24.56 per barrel. International benchmark Brent crude settled 13.86% higher at $30.97 per barrel.
Regeneron shares surged after the biotech firm reported better than expected first-quarter results. The company also revealed it is advancing a top coronavirus antibody treatment, aiming to have "hundreds of thousands of preventative doses available by the end of August 2020."
ECONOMIC NEWS: US Trade Deficit Increases Notably To $44.4 Billion in March- US trade deficit widened to $44.4 billion in March from $39.8 billion in February, with the value of exports showing a steeper drop than the value of imports, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday. The trade deficit was expected to widen to $44.0 billion. The increase in the size of the trade deficit came as the value of exports plunged by 9.6 percent to $187.7 billion, while the value of imports plummeted by 6.2 percent to $232.2 billion.
US Service Sector Activity Contracts for First Time in over 10 Years in April- US service sector activity contracted for the first time since December of 2009 in the month of April, a report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Tuesday showed. The ISM said its non-manufacturing index tumbled to 41.8 in April from 52.5 in March, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in service sector activity. The non-manufacturing index slumped to its lowest level since hitting 40.1 in March of 2009. The report said the supplier deliveries index spiked to a record high 78.3 in April from 62.1 in March, with a reading above 50 indicating slower deliveries.
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