Markets stay flat as 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment last week

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 70 points Thursday morning. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%.

U.S. futures were primarily flat, but rose a little before the opening bell, despite another abysmal jobs report.

More than 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment claims since the pandemic began, though the true number of Americans who have lost their jobs due to the economic shutdown is estimated to be millions higher.

The ever-growing number of jobless Americans is now causing unrest and stoking heated debate about when to lift the lockdown on the U.S. economy and send Americans back to work.

U.S. oil benchmarks continue to recover from their historically bad start to the week. WTI is now trading at nearly $16 a barrel, and Brent crude at $22. 

Asian and European markets remained mostly flat during trading today.