Trump Announces China Trade Talks, Tesla Stock Slumps: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

All three major U.S. indices were in the green in Thursday’s midday trading, reversing earlier losses after President Donald Trump said that he held a “very good phone call” with China’s President Xi Jinping and more trade talks with Beijing will take place “shortly.”

The S&P 500 rose 0.42%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained about 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.27%.

The job market showed more signs of softening with initial jobless claims in the U.S. rising to 247,000, up from the previous week's revised figure of 239,000 and defying expectations for a decline, according to Trading Economics. On Wednesday, a disappointing private sector payrolls report showed only 37,000 jobs were added in May, well below forecasts.

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The softer-than-expected labor reports have heightened anticipation for Friday's non-farm payrolls release. Economists expect a gain of 125,000 jobs for May, which would be 52,000 fewer than the previous month.

In commodities, silver futures surged 4% to trade above $36 per troy ounce as weak economic data and a dovish Federal Reserve outlook fueled safe-haven demand ahead of Friday's non-farm payrolls report. Silver has since retreated to $35.33, but remains up by more than 20% year-to-date.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) pulled back to $104,491 midday after nearly touching $106,000 earlier in the session.

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was up 0.29% to $597.60. 
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.28% at $426.06. 
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rose 0.47% to $531.24. 
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) climbed 0.61% to $209.72.
• The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) dipped 0.34% to $214.05. 
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) rose 0.33% to $82.23. 

Thursday's Stock Movers: 

Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares sank on Thursday as political tensions and ongoing concerns about international sales performance weighed on the stock. CEO Elon Musk’s public feud with President Trump intensified, with Musk urging Americans to oppose Trump’s latest bill and calling it a threat to the U.S. economy.

Stocks reacting to company earnings reports included: 

• Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ:MOMO)
• ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CHPT)
• PVH, Inc. (NYSE:PVH)
• Bark, Inc. (NYSE:BARK)
• Planet Labs, Inc. (NYSE:PL)
• MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB)
• Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE)

Companies reporting after Thursday's closing bell include: 

• Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
• Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)
• Samsara Inc. (NYSE:IOT)
• Rubrik, Inc. (NYSE:RBRK)
• DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU)
• Braze, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE)
• Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:WOOF)
• Rent the Runway, Inc. (NASDAQ:RENT)

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