5 things to know before the stock market opens on Thursday

Here are five key things investors need to know to start their trading day:

Stock futures fell Thursday as Wall Street digested mixed earnings and inflation reports for the week. Futures linked to Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.55%, while S&P 500 futures lost 0.80% and Nasdaq 100 futures decreased by 1.0%. Other tech giants, including Amazon And Applewill report earnings on Thursday. The September Personal Consumer Expenditures Price Index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET. Follow market updates in real time.

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol on Wednesday promised the new plan would “fundamentally change” the coffee chain’s strategy after earnings again fell short of Wall Street expectations. The company’s net sales fell 3% to $9.07 billion due to weaker demand in the U.S. and China, including a 10% drop in traffic to U.S. stores. Niccol said Starbucks’ key goal is to deliver a drink to a customer in less than four minutes. Other changes announced by Niccol include getting rid of surcharges on milk substitutes and trimming the menu.

Strong consumer spending helped propel another quarter of strong but unspectacular growth in the U.S. economy. Gross domestic product expanded 2.8% year over year, below the 3.1% rise expected by analysts polled by Dow Jones and a 3.0% jump in the second quarter. Consumer spending accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total and increased 3.7%, the strongest pace since the first quarter of 2023. A series of reports on the US economy will inform the Federal Reserve this week ahead of a decision on whether to continue cutting interest rates on November 7.

Microsoft And Meta reported mixed quarterly results on Wednesday, even though both companies’ earnings beat Wall Street expectations. Microsoft updated its fiscal second-quarter revenue forecast to $68.1 billion to $69.1 billion, below the $69.83 billion expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG. The company’s shares fell more than 3% after the report. Meta raised its forecast but failed to meet user growth and predicted a surge in AI spending on top of its already higher-than-expected numbers.

Former FTX executive Nishad Singh received no jail time but was given three years of supervised release on Wednesday for his role in one of the largest financial frauds in history. He became the fourth former employee of the company to be convicted. The former engineering executive faced a maximum prison sentence of 75 years, but New York Judge Lewis Kaplan called Singh’s cooperation with the government “remarkable” and found his involvement in the fraud far more limited than that of company founder Sam Bankman-Fried or Caroline Ellison. , former CEO of hedge fund subsidiary Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Ellison received two years.

— CNBC’s Brian Evans, Amelia Lucas, Jeff Cox, Jordan Novet, Jonathan Vanian, Mackenzie Sigalos and Don Gil contributed to this report.