The following news items are the most crucial for investors to know as they begin their trading day:
1. The inflation indicator is the focus
Investors are hoping that the major averages post their sixth straight positive session as U.S. stock futures climbed slightly Thursday morning. The day’s market activity will be influenced by inflation statistics and what it means for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy when it makes its decision in November.
2. Scalise in the news
The speaker of the House is selected by the Republicans. Following his victory over Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the Judiciary Committee and a staunch conservative, the GOP chose Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., as majority leader of the house. In order to obtain the position in a vote on the House floor, where all Democrats are sure to reject Scalise’s candidature, he must now persuade a small number of holdouts in the notoriously fractious Republican caucus, which ousted ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy this month.
3. High prices will continue.
Get used to paying high interest rates. Officials from the Federal Reserve concurred during their September meeting that rates must remain high until inflation hits the central bank’s 2% target. On how much more they should tighten monetary policy, some officials disagreed on how to control price increases. According to minutes of the meeting when the Fed opted against raising rates, the majority of policymakers thought one more rate hike “would likely be appropriate” in the future.
4. UAW steps up its game
The strike against Ford Motor by the United Auto Workers is getting more intense. A very profitable Kentucky SUV and truck facility with 8,700 UAW members is now part of the union’s work stoppage, which was unexpectedly extended Wednesday evening. In what it described as a “new chapter” for the labour movement, the UAW said that it launched the strike after Ford “refused to make additional movement in bargaining.”
5. Senior US diplomat arrives in Israel
The number of deaths in the Middle East conflict is increasing. According to authorities, at least 1,200 people have perished in Israel, and there have also been at least 1,200 fatalities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel declared a day after establishing an emergency government that it would not release the siege on the Gaza Strip until Hamas’ hostages were freed. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Thursday, where he had meetings scheduled with government representatives.
Source (CNBC)
