US stocks close mixed as virus drug report offsets oil-market surge

• US stocks closed mixed on Thursday as investors mulled weekly unemployment claims, rebounding oil prices, and a bleak report on a potential coronavirus vaccine.
• Jobless claims hit 4.4 million in the week ended April 18, declining from previous periods but pushing the metric's five-week total above 26 million.
• WTI crude soared as much as 33%, to $18.26 a barrel, after President Donald Trump tweeted that the US would "shoot down and destroy" Iranian gunboats if they harassed American ships.
• The drugmaker Gilead slipped 9% at intraday lows after a mistakenly posted report on its in-development coronavirus treatment revealed the drugg didn't help afflicted patients.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US closed mixed on Thursday as markets mulled the latest economic data detailing the coronavirus pandemic's economic fallout.

Jobless claims made in the week ended April 18 reached 4.4 million. It marked a decrease from previous weeks but brought the metric's five-week total to more than 26 million. The latest claims reading is nearly six times the peak weekly level seen during the Great Recession.

"This is another terrible week for layoffs." James McCann, senior global economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments said. "The scale of joblessness in the US is clearly larger than other economies."

Here's where major US indexes closed on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 2,797.80, down 0.1%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 23,515.26, up 0.2% (39 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 8,494.75, down 0.1%

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Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude contracts for June delivery leaped as much as 33%, to $18.26 a barrel. The recovery followed President Donald Trump's Wednesday tweet threatening to "shoot down and destroy" Iranian gunboats should they harass US vessels. Chevron and Exxon benefitted the most from the energy-sector recovery, gaining as much as 5% and 6%, respectively.

IHS Markit's metric of US business output revealed another ominous drop in economic health. The firm's index tracking manufacturing and service sectors plummeted to 27.4 from 40.9 in March, the fastest monthly decline since 2009 when the series began.

The coronavirus tore into economic activity with "a ferocity not previously seen in recent history," Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS, said in the Thursday report.

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Stocks whipsawed in the afternoon after a report on the drugmaker Gilead's coronavirus treatment was mistakenly uploaded to the WHO website. The document showed the drug had no benefit among COVID-19 patients. The broad market briefly turned lower on the news before staging a modest comeback. Gilead's stock slid as much as 9% after a short trading halt.

Gilead responded in a statement that the report contained "inappropriate characterizations of the study," and that low enrollment rendered it unable to form "statistically meaningful conclusions."

Investors are now eagerly anticipating an economic reopening after weeks of halted activity and stifled demand. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday that the White House expected "most of, if not all of, the economy" to reopen by the end of August.

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Thursday's jobs report suggested that a reboot could face snags as millions of Americans rush to rejoin the workforce.

The tepid session followed a 450-point gain for the Dow on Wednesday. Stabilization of oil prices lifted investor sentiments after the commodity market tanked earlier in the week. Negative oil prices posted on Monday drove volatility higher and sent investors fleeing for havens.

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