CNBC Top Stories

Stocks jumped on positive data from a potential coronavirus treatment from Gilead Sciences while investors digested a sharp drop in U.S. economic activity.

About 4 million workers could have filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing total claims above 30 million in just six weeks.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he's reopening the state's parks, golf courses and county parks on Saturday, but visitors will still need to follow social distancing rules.

From delaying Arctic expeditions to canceling vital global climate conferences, the coronavirus pandemic has hindered global progress on fighting climate change and threatens effective natural disaster forecasting as hurricane season approaches.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday is expected to host a roundtable at the White House with industry executives to discuss a plan to re-open the United States economy.

Juul Labs is planning to cut around a third of its staff as the e-cigarette maker faces a relentless series of regulatory headaches and falling market share, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Trump has been soliciting feedback from a wide range of executives on when and how to reopen businesses that have shuttered their doors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Lyft is laying off 982 employees and furloughing 288 others, the company announced in a regulatory filing.

Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, told reporters Monday it is "entirely plausible" that Covid-19 causes the inflammatory illness in children.

Gilead Sciences said preliminary results of a coronavirus drug trial showed at least 50% of patients treated with a five-day dosage of remdesivir improved.

The Small Business Administration's E-Tran system has been plagued with issues in both rounds of funding.

A Harvard University study published last week said the U.S. would need to ramp up testing capacity to at least 5 million tests a day by early June to reopen the economy.

Apple and Google's coronavirus tracking software is now available in beta. The final version is expected in May.

Fiesta Restaurant Group, parent company of Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana, announced in an SEC filing that it would be returning $15 million in small business rescue loans. The company did not say why it was returning the funds. The news comes in the wake of public outcry against publicly traded companies receiving the loans.

The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter, but signs in the stock market suggest investors are looking for it to gear up again soon.

Everything is bigger in Texas — even the tax refunds. Filers residing in Midland, Texas, received an average refund of $3,800 in the 2018 tax year, according to MagnifyMoney's analysis of IRS data.

Boeing lost $641 million in the first quarter as the company faces a drop in demand because of the coronavirus.

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Consumers reined in spending faster than expected in the first quarter, probably even before states issued stay-at-home orders.

Oil prices jumped on Wednesday after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a smaller-than-expected build in US inventories, and on hope that economies will soon reopen.