| | Stock markets rose on Thursday as better-than-expected corporate earnings in Europe offset worries about rising cases of COVID-19 and a sharp escalation in tensions between the United States and China. | | | Apple Inc supplier LG Display Co Ltd said on Thursday it expects profitability to improve in the second half of this year as the new iPhone launch boosts demand for its smartphone panels, despite posting a larger operating loss. | | | S&P 500 and Dow futures hovered near five-month highs on Thursday, as signs that a new coronavirus relief package was at hand lifted sentiment ahead of weekly unemployment data. | | | Twitter Inc reported its highest-ever yearly growth of daily users who can view ads, beating analysts' estimates on usage and sending its shares up 6% in pre-market trading on Thursday. | | | American Airlines posted its second consecutive quarterly loss on Thursday, as the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shutdown of the U.S. economy hurt demand for air travel. | | | Southwest Airlines Co said on Thursday it is rethinking the number of flights it had planned to add in August and September as weakening revenue pushes its daily cash burn up. | | | Hershey Co on Thursday beat quarterly profit estimates and said it expects sales to accelerate in the months ahead, boosted by strong demand for its cooking chocolate products as people stuck at home due to the pandemic take to baking. | | | Emirates airline is offering some pilots and cabin crew up to four months of unpaid leave, as it strives to manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, an internal email said. | | | A new derivatives rule should clear up any uncertainty about U.S. regulators' role in transactions involving foreign banks and foreign counterparties and so avoid clashes with other watchdogs, a senior U.S. regulatory official said on Thursday. | | | Second-quarter sales at Unilever fell much less than expected as a pick up in eating at home during coronavirus lockdowns boosted demand for products such as Hellmann's mayonnaise and Breyers ice cream. | | | | |