The Dow and S&P 500 struggled to find direction Thursday as the second wave across the U.S. continue to rise while the latest weekly jobless claims data disappointed investors. 

Stocks clawed back most of their earlier losses on Thursday morning as shares of companies benefiting from the economy recovered. 

Market Snapshot

The major averages fell broadly to start the session investors weighed the rising numbers in the U.S. and around the world along with disappointing unemployment data.

The Dow and the S&P 500 snapped their three-day winning streak on Wednesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite eked out a small gain.

The energy, consumer, and technology sector led the S&P to run.

For large-cap tech companies, $Roku Inc(ROKU.US)$, $ZoomInfo Technologies Inc(ZI.US)$, $Peloton Interactive Inc(PTON.US)$ climbed 8.85%, 7.31%, and 4.13% respectively.

$Broadcom Ltd(AVGO.US)$, $Microsoft Corp(MSFT.US)$, $Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US)$, $Amazon.Com Inc(AMZN.US)$ among mega-cap equities also help Nasdaq to avoid losses.

While the market remained choppy, major stock averages are set to post solid gains this week after a sharp pullback in the week prior. The 30-stock Dow and the S&P 500 have gained more than 2% each this week so far, while the Nasdaq has risen about 3.3%.

What's driving the market:

Initial U.S. weekly jobless claims rose more than expected last week, coming in at 1.508 million. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 1.3 million. 

professionals' comments:

• "While initial claims have now fallen for the 11th straight week after the late March spike, this past week saw the slowest pace of decline on a percentage basis since early April so we'll see if this is where it settles out for now," said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group, in a note.

• "We believe the market is pricing in quite a bit of good news and the rally is likely to take a breather in the coming months as the recovery evolves," Scott Wren, Wells Fargo's senior global market strategist, said in a note. "We expect volatility in the coming months as we gauge how the reopenings are going and how consumer spending is progressing."

• "The fears regarding infection rates following the reopening of various States within the US and in other countries are understandable," said Michael Shaoul, chairman and CEO of Marketfield Asset Management, in a note. "We do not doubt that progress will have a staccato feel to it in many localities, but we would be very surprised if a second wave took hold that came anywhere close to what we saw take place at the start of 2020."

Equities on focus:

Hertz — The car rental company's stock fell about 2% in extended trading after the bankrupt company said Thursday that it was terminating its controversial sale of up to $500 million in stock. Trading on the stock was halted ahead of the announcement. Hertz previously said Wednesday that it was suspending the stock sale after the SEC expressed concern over the move and launched a review. 

AMC Entertainment — The movie theater chain's stock dipped 1% after the closing bell. AMC CEO Adam Aron told the Wall Street Journal Thursday that the company plans to open all of its theaters by July 24. AMC was forced to close all of its locations in the U.S. amid the pandemic. 

Smith & Wesson Brands — The gun maker's stock dropped 2% in extended trading after the company released its fourth-quarter earnings. Smith & Wesson reported earnings of 57 cents per share excluding some items on revenue of $233.6 million, while FactSet analysts estimated earnings of 40 cents per share with revenue of $217.6 million. The company also provided an update on its spin-off efforts. Likely to be completed in August, the spin-off "will create two independent, publicly-traded companies: Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (the firearm business), and American Outdoor Brands, Inc. (the outdoor products and accessories business)," according to CFO Jeffrey Buchanan.

PG&E Corporation — The utility's stock rose about 1% in extended trading after the company issued a statement on its role in the 2018 Camp Fire in California. PG&E pleaded guilty Tuesday to made  84 people dead in the wildfire, which was caused by its crumbling electrical grid. The company's statement included remarks from incoming interim CEO Bill Smith, who addressed the court Thursday during the company's sentencing. "It can never be said too many times: We accept responsibility for our role in the Camp Fire, and all 23,000 employees are committed to making sure our equipment never again causes a catastrophe like this," Smith said. PG&E will pay a fine of $3.5 million for its crimes as well as $500,000 for the cost of the investigation.

Marathon Petroleum — Shares of the oil company rose 5% in extended trading after it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that Marathon was in discussions with potential buyers of its Speedway gas stations. Marathon had initially pursued a sale that fell apart. Last year investors called for Marathon to spin-off Speedway.

Tesla – Shares gained 1% after Jefferies raised its target on the stock to $1,200 from $650. The firm noted that Tesla is "the only legacy-free OEM engaged in a +ve EV sum game," and said that there's "logic in the exuberance." Shares of the automaker have more than doubled this year. 

Other Markets:

Crude oil prices gained after erasing earlier losses. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.3% to $38.85 a barrel, the highest in more than a week.

Gold depreciated 0.1% to $1,724.87 an ounce, the weakest in more than a week.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.5% to 1,220.54, the highest in almost three weeks on the largest gain in a week.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell four basis points to 0.70%, the lowest in a week on the biggest fall in a week.