Morning Report 19 Jun 20: US sharemarkets were mixed on Thursday

Investors weighed the latest US economic data against reports of fresh outbreaks of the virus. The 58,000 weekly drop in unemployment claims was the smallest since claims began to retreat in early April. President Donald Trump said the US will not lock down again amid rising COVID-19 cases in California, Florida, Arizona and Texas. Grocery chain Kroger (-3.1%) beat quarterly earnings estimates but did not reaffirm or provide new 2020 forecasts. Shares of Biogen fell 7.5% after a US district court ruled in favour of generic drugmaker Mylan in a patent dispute. The Dow Jones index fell by 39 points or 0.2% after being 271 points lower in the session. The S&P500 index rose by 0.1%. The Nasdaq index was up by 32 points or 0.3%.   

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