U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 33,000 to 779,000 at end of January, compared with economists’ consensus estimates for 835,000 from 847,000 the week before, according to economists surveyed by Econoday. The report comes ahead of the official January employment report due on Friday from the Labor Department.

“Claims are running three to four times more than during the pre-pandemic period.  We still have an enormous unemployment issue,” said Matt Forester, chief investment officer of BNY Mellon’s Lockwood Advisors, in e-mailed comments.

Thursday also marks a busy day of earnings and economic reports with investors looking for signs that the economy is rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, despite an elevated case numbers and the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus amid the rollout of effective vaccines.

In earnings, no fewer than 42 companies are slated to report quarterly results on Thursday, representing the busiest day on the calendar for fourth-quarter results.

Headliners include Ford Motor F, +1.12%  and Snapchat parent Snap Inc. SNAP, -1.16%, and also include results from the likes of Clorox Co. CLX, -4.79%, Yum Brands YUM, -0.05%, and Merck & Co. MRK, -1.71%, which announced that Kenneth Frazier, its CEO would be stepping down after 10 years at the helm of the drug company.

See: S&P 500 earnings recession set to end, as Q4 EPS swings to growth

In public health news, the U.S. added at least 118,991 new cases on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker, and counted at least 3,843 deaths. Case numbers have been declining, however. The U.S. averaged 136,438 new cases a day in the past week, down 30% from the average two weeks ago. Hospitalizations have also been falling, according to the COVID Tracking Project. There were 91,440 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals on Wednesday, down from 92,880 a day earlier and the lowest level since Nov. 27. 

Against that backdrop, investors are also awaiting the next steps on a new fiscal relief package. President Joe Biden said he was open to sending $1,400 payments to a smaller group of Americans in the next round of coronavirus aid and changing the overall price tag of his $1.9 trillion plan, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Also on investors’ radar was a meeting of financial regulators, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, to discuss the market volatility related to GameStop Corp. GME, -32.10% and AMC Entertainment Holdings AMC, -14.71% and other so-called meme stocks.

See also: The SEC could cripple Robinhood’s business model by enforcing existing rules, experts say

In other economic reports, U.S. productivity dropped to a 4.8% annual rate in the fourth quarter. Separately, U.S. factory orders for manufactured goods rose 1.1% in December after a 1.3% gain in the prior month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were expecting a 0.7% gain.

Which stocks are in focus?

• Shares of Merck slipped Thursday, after the drugmaker reported a fourth-quarter profit that missed expectations, but revenue that beat and provided and upbeat full-year outlook. Shares of Merck were down 1.7%.
• Clorox fell 5% Thursday after the maker of cleaning products and household goods posted stronger-than-expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. COST were in focus after the retailer on Wednesday reported net sales of $13.64 billion for the retail month of January, up 18% from $11.57 billion in the same month a year ago. Shares rose 0.3%.
• Shares of Hershey Co.  HSY, +0.52% rose 0.3% after the chocolate and confectionary products company reported fourth-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations, helped by market share gains and volume growth.
• Yum Brands stock was up 0.2% Thursday after the fast-food company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations.
• Tapestry Inc.‘s stock TPR, +4.25% rose over 3% after the luxury fashion and accessories company reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and sales that beat expectation.
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. BMY, -0.29%  said Thursday it had a net loss of $10.027 billion, or $4.45 a share, in the fourth quarter, wider than the loss of $1.056 billion, or 55 cents a share, posted in the year-earlier period. Shares were up 0.2%.
• Shares of New York Times Co.  NYT, +2.82% were up slightly after the media and newspaper company reported fourth-quarter adjusted profit and revenue beats, as strength in subscription revenue offset weakness in advertising.
• Quest Diagnostics Inc. DGX, -2.40% said Thursday its board has approved a 10.7% increase in its quarterly dividend to 62 cents a share. Shares were down 1.2%
• GameStop shares GME, -32.10% were off 26% and have declined over 77% so far this week, and AMC Entertainment shares were trading 11% lower and off 40% so far this week, as the popular retail stocks see trade stabilize after a massive short squeeze.

How are other assets faring?

• The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y rose about 1.5 basis points to 1.14%. Yields and bond prices move in opposite directions.
• The ICE U.S. Dollar Index, DXY, a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, was up 0.4%.
• Gold futures GCJ21, -2.57% slumped 2.4% to below $1,800 an ounce.
• Oil futures rose, with the U.S. benchmark CL.1 trading up 0.6% to $56 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• The Stoxx 600 Europe index SXXP gained 0.5%, while London’s FTSE 100 UKX was flat.
• In Asia, the Shanghai Composite SHCOMP fell 0.4% lower, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index HSI fell 0.7% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 NIK fell 1.1%.