Dow jumps 300 points to hit another record close ahead of key April jobs report; European markets close mixed with earnings, data and Bank of England comments in focus 
U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday as investors awaited Friday’s highly anticipated jobs report to gauge the pace of the labor-market recovery. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 318.19 points, or 0.9%, to close near its session high, reaching a record close of 34,548.53. The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 4,201.62. The Nasdaq Composite erased earlier losses and gained 0.4% to 13,632.84. 
The gains came after a better-than-expected reading on jobless claims. First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 498,000 for the week ended May 1, hitting a fresh pandemic-era low and better than a Dow Jones estimate of 527,000. 
PayPal shares jumped 1.9% after the company posted better-than-expected earnings and said revenue last quarter surged 31%. 
Etsy tanked by more than 14% after warning that sales will slow as the pandemic boost wanes. 

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session down by 0.1% having earlier climbed above the flatline. Travel and leisure stocks led the losses to slide 1.7%, as sectors and major bourses struggled for direction. 
Societe Generale reported a “record” quarter for its trading division, helping it smash through analyst expectations for the first three months of 2021. It posted first-quarter net income of 814 million euros ($977 million). SocGen shares climbed 5.5%. 
AB InBev also beat profit expectations to report a 14.2% rise in core earnings. The Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois brewer also announced that CEO Carlos Brito will step down in July to be replaced by North American boss Michel Doukeris. The company’s shares added 5.2%. 
Meanwhile Volkswagen raised its margin target after seeing a surge in demand for higher-priced vehicles in the first quarter. Shares fell 2.6%. 
Source: CNBC