5 Things You Should Know Before The Stock Market Opens Thursday, April 22

Here are the top news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

US stock futures fell slightly on Thursday after Wall Street recovered from a two-session loss streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 316 points, or 0.9%, on Wednesday. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%. The Nasdaq jumped 1.2%. The Dow and S&P 500 were a fraction shy of their all-time highs on Friday. The Nasdaq was 1% off its February record. 10-year Treasury yields, which peaked to a 14-month high in March and stubborn technology stocks, tipped lower early Thursday and remained below 1.6%.

The Labor Department will report its weekly look at unemployment requests at 8:30 a.m. ET, an hour before the opening bell. Economists expect 603,000 new claims for unemployment benefits last week. The previous week’s initial claims of 576,000 were by far the best number since the start of the Covid pandemic. It was the first reading among 600,000 since the 256,000 reported for the week ending March 14, 2020.

Southwest Airlines said Thursday that holiday travel bookings continue to rise and expects break-even cash flow “or better” by June. The Dallas-based airline posted a net profit of $ 116 million in the first quarter, compared to a loss of $ 94 million a year ago. First-quarter earnings resulted from more than $ 1 billion in federal aid that offset labor costs. Sales of $ 2.1 billion were down nearly 52% from the same period last year. Shares rose 1.5% in the premarket.

American Airlines posted a net loss of $ 1.25 billion, its fifth consecutive quarterly loss. The carrier, like its big rivals Delta and United, has had to do without much of the business and international travel revenue they have long relied on. American’s revenue was just over $ 4 billion, nearly 53% lower than the more than $ 8.5 billion it published a year ago. Shares rose 2.3%.

Credit Suisse reported a net loss of $ 275 million in the first quarter on Thursday after warning of heavy losses earlier this month in the collapse of US hedge fund Archegos Capital. The shares of the Swiss bank trading on Wall Street fell about 7% in premarket trading. However, that loss was smaller than expected. If it wasn’t for Archegos, Thomas Gottstein, CEO of Credit Suisse, told CNBC on Thursday that Q1 was “one of our best quarters in the bank’s history.” “Definitely the best quarter in the last 10 years,” he added, calling Archegos’ losses unacceptable.

President Joe Biden pledges to halve US greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, the White House announced ahead of hosting a global climate summit Thursday and Friday. That goal roughly doubles America’s previous commitment under the 2015 Paris climate accord. All 40 world leaders Biden invited to the virtual meeting will be in attendance, including those from China and India. The summit is an opportunity for the US to rejoin global climate efforts after the Trump administration leaves the Paris Agreement.

India reported a record number of daily Covid cases on Thursday as the second wave of coronavirus in the country shows no signs of slowing down. There were 314,835 new cases over a 24 hour period. That surpassed the world’s previous highest one-day hike the United States held in January. There is also growing concern about the double mutation of a Covid variant discovered in India, which could make the virus more contagious. India ranks second to America in the most cumulative infections among countries with nearly 16 million, about half of the US total and about 2 million more than No. 3 Brazil. Unlike India and Brazil, which are in the midst of power surges, new US daily cases are lower.

– Follow all market actions like a pro CNBC Pro. Get the latest news about the pandemic with CNBC’s coronavirus Coverage.