Reuters

U.S. home sales logged their biggest drop in nearly 10 years in April as the novel coronavirus pandemic upended the labor market and broader economy, undercutting demand for housing.

Best Buy Co Inc said on Thursday it expects profit margins to be under pressure in the second quarter, as it spends more on expanding delivery services to support a surge in online shopping from people staying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. continued its cautious reemergence from a coronavirus-linked shutdown over the past week, with measures of retail foot traffic slowly increasing but broader indexes of economic activity still stalled.

U.S. stock indexes edged lower at the open on Thursday as growing Sino-U.S. tensions and mixed retail earnings added to worries about the pace of a recovery from a coronavirus-fueled economic slump.

TJX Cos Inc said it was seeing very strong sales at its stores reopened post-coronavirus lockdowns, offering hope of a swift recovery after a huge quarterly loss due to closures and a resulting decline in sales, sending its shares up 6% on Thursday.

Starbucks Corp said on Thursday it had regained nearly two-thirds of its comparable U.S. store sales from the prior year, as it reopened stores and modified operations due to the coronavirus-related restrictions.

Macy's Inc said on Thursday it could rack up operating losses of up to $1.11 billion in the first quarter, as the department store operator was forced to shut stores due to lockdowns aimed at curbing the spread of the new coronavirus.

BlackRock Inc said on Thursday that all 16 of its director nominees were elected with favorable votes of about 94% at its annual meeting.

Millions more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week as backlogs continue to be cleared and disruptions from the novel coronavirus unleash a second wave of layoffs, pointing to another month of staggering job losses in May.

U.S. apparel chain Gap Inc is speeding up its rollout of warehouse robots for assembling online orders so it can limit human contact during the coronavirus pandemic, the company told Reuters.

Equity markets slipped on Thursday on concerns about the long-term impact of the new coronavirus and simmering U.S.-China tensions, though those worries couldn't stop oil prices from marching to a 2-1/2 month high.

U.S. stock indexes eyed a weaker open on Thursday as growing Sino-U.S. tensions and weak retail earnings added to worries about the pace of a recovery from a coronavirus-fueled economic slump.

Lufthansa is in advanced talks over a 9 billion euros ($9.9 billion) state bailout that would see Germany take a 20% stake in its flagship airline, as countries battle to save an aviation industry hammered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Warehouse employees last month staged a walkout in Michigan to demand safer working conditions at their facility. So did workers in New York, Illinois and Minnesota.

TJX Cos Inc's first-quarter sales more than halved on Thursday, as the off-price retailer's stores and online operations remained shut for most of the quarter due to coronavirus-led lockdowns.

U.S. stock index futures fell on Thursday as growing trade tensions with China added to worries about the pace of a recovery from a coronavirus-fueled economic slump even with several countries easing lockdowns.

Best Buy Co Inc's quarterly revenue and profit topped analysts' estimates on Thursday due to a surge in online sales of electronics needed for consumers to work from home.

U.S. President Donald Trump travels to the political swing state of Michigan on Thursday to visit a Ford plant amid tension with the state's Democratic governor and differences over the speed at which the country is reopening from its COVID-19 shutdown.

Best Buy Co Inc reported a 5.3% fall in quarterly same-store sales on Thursday, as the electronics retailer had to close stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions more Americans likely filed for unemployment benefits last week as backlogs continue to be cleared and disruptions from the novel coronavirus unleash a second wave of layoffs, pointing to another month of staggering job losses in May.