Crude Oil Gains Over 1%; US Initial Jobless Claims Edge Higher

U.S. stocks traded lower midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite falling around 0.4% on Thursday.

The Dow traded down 0.20% to 49,392.89 while the NASDAQ fell 0.38% to 24,562.83. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.11% to 7,130.12.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares jumped by 2.1% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, information technology stocks fell by 0.9%.

Top Headline

U.S. initial jobless claims climbed by 6,000 to 214,000 in the week ending April 18, compared to market estimates of 212,000.

Equities Trading UP
           

• United Rentals Inc (URI) shares shot up 20% to $965.28 after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter financial results and raised its FY26 sales guidance.
• Shares of Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPIX) got a boost, surging 43% to $4.36 after the company announced that Apotex will acquire its line of branded pharmaceuticals for $100 million.
• Helen of Troy Ltd (HELE) shares were also up, gaining 18% to $23.24 following upbeat quarterly results.

Equities Trading DOWN

• ServiceNow Inc (NOW) shares dropped 16% to $86.53 after the company first-quarter financial results. The company said that FY26 will see some near-term headwinds to margins due to geopolitical headwinds.
• Shares of ASGN Inc (ASGN) were down 38% to $24.94 after the company reported worse-than-expected first-quarter financial results and issued second-quarter guidance below estimates.
• Medpace Holdings Inc (MEDP) was down, falling 24% to $384.62 after the company announced first-quarter results.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded up 1.4% to $94.22 while gold traded down 0.2% at $4,741.90.

Silver traded down 2.7% to $75.89 on Thursday, while copper fell 1.2% to $6.0565.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.1%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 0.8%. London's FTSE 100 fell 0.4%, Germany's DAX slipped 0.2% and France's CAC 40 gained 0.6% during the session.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed lower on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 0.75%, China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.32%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipping 0.95% and India's BSE Sensex dropping 1.09%.

Economics

• U.S. initial jobless claims climbed by 6,000 to 214,000 in the week ending April 18, compared to market estimates of 212,000.
• The Chicago Fed National Activity Index fell to -0.20 in March, recording its lowest reading since November 2025, compared to a revised level of +0.03 in February.
• The S&P Global services PMI climbed to 51.3 in April from 50.3 in the previous month, topping estimates of 50.
• The S&P Global manufacturing PMI rose to 54.0 in April from 52.3 in March and beating market estimates of 52.5.

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