Top Things to Know in the Market on Wednesday, April 29th

• 2020-04-29
• Traiding Idea

unemployment in the united states may be as high as 40 million
 
The jobless rate in the United States due to the Covid-19 outbreak is much higher than what was announced in the official data, as millions of Americans have not been able to file for unemployment insurance.

The total number of those who filed for unemployment reached 26 million, After another 4.4 million Americans claims were filed last week.

The frustration over the application process is one of the reasons why the official unemployment rate remains below reality, according to the Economic Policy Institute (ERI).

The institute said that if it weren't for the difficulty of the process, millions more would be applying for unemployment benefits, while only half of those who do apply would actually receive benefits.

An online survey shows that out of every ten people applying for unemployment benefits, at least three cannot make a claim through the government system and two find the process too difficult that they do not even try.

"We estimate that an additional 8.9 ‒13.9 million people could have filed for benefits had the process been easier," The authors concluded after extrapolating their findings in the full five weeks of claims since March 15.
 
Thus, the total number of applications during this period could increase to 40 million.

"These findings imply the official count of unemployment insurance claims likely drastically understates the extent of employment reductions and the need for economic relief during the coronavirus crisis", EPI said.
 
Dow rallies more than 500 points on positive data on possible Gilead coronavirus treatment
 
U.S. stocks jumped sharply on Wednesday on positive data on the potential of Gilead's Coronavirus treatment.
 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 508.25 points, or 2.11 %, to 2,4609.80.
 
The S&p 500 surged 76.77 points, or 2.68 %, to 2,940.33 while The Nasdaq composite advanced 287.27 points, or 3.33%, to 8893.27.
 
A study of Gilead's remdesivir drug by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the United States yielded good results, Raising expectations for a potential coronavirus treatment. Gilead shares jumped 9.4%.
 
Asian and European stocks rose ahead of the Fed rate decision

In London, the FTSE 100 index climbed 1.91 % and closed at 5,958.50.

French CAC 40 index advanced 1.43 % to closed at 4,569.79. Also, Germany's DAX 30 index surged 1.27 % to 10,795.63.

In Spain, the IBEX 35 index rose 1.55% to 6,836.40.

In Asian stock markets, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 soared 0.06% and closed at 19,771.19.
 
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.23% to 24,631.31. China's Shanghai Composite jumped 0.46% and ended at 3,866.94.
 
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.03% to 5,367.80.
 
Among other major Asian indices, TOPIX (Tokyo Stock Price Index) was up.
 
Oil jumped more than 30%, hoping to reopen the economy sooner
 
On Wednesday, oil prices jumped more than 30 %, following a report showing that storage fills up slower than expected, as well as on the hope that economies will reopen sooner than expected.
 
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate ( WTI ) futures surged 11.63%, to settle at $13.82 per barrel. Brent crude futures jumped 3.82%, to $21.33 per barrel.