5 things to know before the stock market opens on Thursday, August 11

Here are the most important news items traders need to start their trading day:

The US market on Thursday is set to rise again after a government report showing cooling inflation spurred a rally on Wednesday. All three major indexes are having a good day: Dow increased by more than 500 points, while S&P 500 highest score since early May and Nasdaq highest closing since April. Ahead of Thursday’s trading session, investors are looking at Disney earnings from Wednesday night (see below), while also looking ahead to the producer price index and weekly jobs data for next week. late morning.

Gasoline prices in the United States have been falling for several weeks now, but the average price of a gallon fell below a key psychological barrier this week. A gallon of regular gas now costs $3.99, the lowest since March, AAA said on Thursday. Prices hit a record $5.02 in June and are actually higher than prices in some parts of the country. The news comes a day after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that growth in the consumer price index, a measure of inflation, cooled slightly more than expected in July. Prices remain high, but falling gas prices and slower inflation could help the economy fight a recession, at least for now. CNBC’s Jeff Cox writes.

Disney was pretty attentive to earnings on Wednesday night, and it made the most of that. The entertainment giant delivered a flurry of news that sent its shares higher in after-hours trading: Quarterly results beat Wall Street’s expectations In the top and bottom lines, the park business is doing well, and the streaming of additional subscribers easily leads the forecasts. The company raises price for its streaming services, while it narrows down its ambitious long-term goals to 15 million Disney+ subscribers, which many industry analysts have called for. And it looks like the company has given investors what they were looking for, especially as the streaming leader. Netflix trying to adjust its business amid massive subscriber loss and Discovery of Warner Bros. more emphasis on traditional linear television and theatrical releases. Disney Stocks were up by a healthy margin before the bell on Thursday, following Wednesday’s nearly 4% gain.

Electric vehicle manufacturers, such as Ford Motor and Tesla, has increased in price recently, in large part due to the rising cost of battery materials. Don’t expect that to change in the near future, Ford CEO Jim Farley said wednesday. “I don’t think there will be much remission for lithium, cobalt and nickel,” he told reporters. Farley’s warning comes as Congress prepares to pass a health care and climate bill that includes a number of provisions aimed at shifting Americans away from gasoline engines to electric vehicles, which are costly and in relative supply. short. However, some key figures in the industry are warning that the law can really hinder sales.

The Biden administration is rethinking its strategy regarding tariffs on Chinese goods following China’s positive response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Reuters report. The Chinese government claims to dominate Taiwan, a self-governing island, and it has conducted several major military exercises nearby in protest of Pelosi’s trip. Chairperson Joe Biden and his team considered whether to drop some existing tariffs on Chinese goods and possibly impose more, but officials pushed those options aside and Biden remained. A decision has not yet been made, according to the report.

– CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Jeff Cox, Alex Sherman, Sarah Whitten, Pippa Stevens, John Rosevear and Michael Wayland contributed to this report.

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