Wall Street churns to life after sputtering start; jobless claims fall

12:30pm: Southwest gains on promising results The Dow improved from an early deficit of more than 175 points, but was still down 47, 0.1%, at midday. The Nasdaq Composite crossed the flatline to gain 40 points, 0.3%, and the S&P 500 picked up almost 2 points to 4,175. Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) was among the day's success stories. Its stock rose more than 1% to $62.84 after the company swung to a profit due in part to federal payroll aid, per CNBC, and announced that it expects to be breakeven or better by June. 9:45am: Proactive North America headlines: Alternus Energy Group PLC (NOTC:ALT) bolsters executive team by appointing industry veteran Gary Swan as CTO Revive Therapeutics Ltd (CSE:RVV) (OTCMKTS:RVVTF) (FRA:31R) files US provisional patent application for oral thin-film psilocybin product following research study Marble Financial Inc (CSE:MRBL) (OTCMKTS:MRBLF) (FRA:2V0) launches affiliate marketing program with Fintel Connect to reach more Canadian consumers Great Bear Resources Ltd (CVE:GBR) (OTCQX:GTBAF) (FRA:0G6A) extends area of continuous gold mineralization at LP Fault, Dixie project by 25% Talon Metals Corp (TSE:TLO) (OTCMKTS:TLOFF) (FRA:TAO)  continues to hit high-grade nickel outside of Tamarack project resource area Xigem Technologies Corporation (CSE:XIGM) (FRA:2C1) names Avi Greenspoon as inaugural member of its new advisory board The Valens Company Inc (TSE:VLNS) (OTCQX:VLNCF) (FRA:7LV) increases domestic reach via distribution agreement with Yukon territory Lexaria Bioscience Corp (CSE:LXX) (OTCMKTS:LXRP) says dosing in first human trial of DehydraTECH CBD to treat high blood pressure has started Planet 13 Holdings Inc (CSE:PLTH) (OTCQB:PLNHF) crushes single-day sales record in Las Vegas with historic 420 return LeanLife Health Inc (CSE:LLP) (OTCQB:LNLHF) (FRA:LL1) says first containers of Mike Tyson-branded Iron Energy drink headed to its Arizona distribution facility Loop Insights Inc (CVE:MTRX) (OTCMKTS:RACMF) joins Oracle Partner Network to integrate with its POS system to get in front of more potential clients Versus Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VS) (CSE:VS) (FRA:BMVB) engagement platform to include alcohol ads beginning in July 9.40am: Wall street lags The main indices on Wall Street were trading in the red on Thursday morning despite a better than expected set of US jobless claims data. In the first minutes of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.37% at 34,008 while the S&P 500 dropped 0.17% to 4,166 and the Nasdaq fell 0.05% to 13,942. The negative start came despite news that the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits last week fell by 39,000 to 547,000, the lowest level since March 14. Analysts had been expecting a rise to around 610,000. However, the previous week's level has been revised up by 10,000 to 586,000. 7:50am: Wall Street expected to make quiet start After Wednesday’s surge by US markets, investors on Wall Street seem set to catch their breath when trading reopens on Thursday morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is forecast to see an initial dip of just 21 points or 0.04%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are expected to edge 0.09% and 0.1% lower respectively. Among the US companies reporting results, chemicals group Dow and biotechnology group Biogen have beaten expectations while American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have reported losses more or less in line with forecasts. Later come the latest figures for the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits, a weekly figure that can be somewhat erratic. Michael Hewson at CMC Markets said: "Concerns about US inflation appear to have taken a back seat this week, with US 10-year yields down on the week "Last week US weekly jobless claims sank to a post pandemic low of 576,000, confounding expectations of a number above 700,000, a number that should have sent yields sharply higher but didn’t. "Today’s claims numbers are expected to see a modest increase, but only to 610,000, as attention starts to turn towards the next payrolls report which is due in just over two weeks’ time." Four things to watch for on Thursday: The earnings diary for Wednesday will feature results from computer processor maker Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC), telecoms giant AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), life sciences, medical and industrial conglomerate Danaher Corp (NYSE:DHR) and railroad group Union Pacific Corp (NYSE:UNP) In other earnings news, shares in chemicals company Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) will be in focus after the firm reported profits and sales that beat market expectations Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE:ALK) could also draw attention after the airline reported a loss that was better than feared and a return to positive cash flow in March On the macro front, alongside the jobless claims numbers there will also be home sales data and the Kansas Fed manufacturing index for April