Stocks inch into the green in final 30 minutes of session led by tech; European markets close higher as some nations plan to ease virus lockdown measures; BELEX15 down 0.19%; Krka, says demand for its products has increased
Stocks rose slightly on Thursday, led by tech, as Wall Street grappled with more concerns over the coronavirus outbreak and dismal economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points, or 0.1%. The Dow was down more than 200 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 gained 0.6% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.4%.
Netflix and Amazon each rose more than 2.5% to record levels, leading major tech stocks higher. Netflix’s gains were driven by a big price-target increase from a Goldman Sachs analyst.
The Labor Department said 5.245 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week of April 11. Last week’s claims total brought the number of job losses to 22 million during the coronavirus outbreak.

European markets closed higher on Thursday as some countries began plotting an exit from lockdown measures. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.8% higher provisionally, with technology stocks adding 3% to lead the move higher, while oil and gas shed almost 2%.
Data published Thursday showed that euro zone industrial production dipped by 0.1% month-on-month and 1.9% year-on-year in February, before coronavirus shutdown measures were imposed across the bloc.
In terms of individual share price action, German meal kit firm Hellofresh surged more than 11%, while CHR Hansen gained over 10% after the Danish bioscience company beat second-quarter growth expectations.

Serbian BELEX15 was down 0.19% as Tehnogas and NIS lost 5% and 0.87%, respectively. These were also the most traded stocks. Serbia's main airport, in Belgrade (AERO), served 923,000 passengers in the first quarter of 2020, down 10.8% year-on-year, its operator said. The stock was flat, with miserable volume yesterday. Belgrade Stock Exchange will be closed until Tuesday, due to Easter holiday.
Slovenia's generic drugs producer, Krka, says demand for its products has increased during the coronavirus pandemic but added the development of the disease and its consequences remain "unpredictable". Krka is Slovenia's largest listed company, with a market capitalisation of about 2.37 billion euros ($2.58 billion). A week ago, Krka said it plans to pay a dividend of 4.25 euros per share this year, up by 32.8% from last year.
Source: CNBC, Ilirika