A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after the Fed’s interest rate announcement in New York, July 27, 2022.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Here are the top news investors need to start their trading day:
1. Stock futures look soft
US stock markets were set for a weak open on Thursday after Wednesday’s broad gains. Investors await the latest round of earnings, which includes parent company Meta on Wednesday afternoon and NBCUniversal parent company Comcast on Thursday morning. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided to raise interest rates by three-quarters of a point, in line with expectations, to combat the highest jump in inflation in four decades. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also indicated that the central bank may slow the pace of interest rate hikes.
2. GDP and recessionary sentiment
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) in Washington, July 27, 2022.
Elizabeth Franz | Reuters
3. JetBlue gets its way
Terminal A at LaGuardia International Airport for JetBlue and Spirit Airlines in New York.
Leslie Josephs | CNBC
It didn’t take long for things to fall into place for JetBlue after Spirit failed its deal with fellow low-cost carrier Frontier. On Thursday morning, Spirit and JetBlue said they had reached a deal. If the acquisition is finalized, the combination of JetBlue and Spirit would create the fifth largest carrier in the United States. But the deal faces significant regulatory hurdles as the Biden administration takes a hard line on mergers and acquisitions. CNBC airlines reporter Leslie Josephs breaks it down here.
4. Reality Bites Meta
Facebook parent Meta reported earnings after the bell on Wednesday, and they weren’t pretty. Financial results exceeded expectations almost everywhere. Its metaverse and virtual reality unit suffered a fat loss of $2.8 billion in the second quarter and is expected to report even lower revenue in the third. The bigger immediate concern, however, is advertising revenue. And just like social media rivals Snap and Twitter, Meta, which also owns Instagram, said the slowing economy is weighing on the ad business. “It’s always hard to predict how deep or how long these cycles will be, but I would say the situation looks worse than it did a quarter ago,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts on a call.
5. Manchin and Schumer actually strike a deal
U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) walks to the Senate Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, June 7, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Washington is notoriously slow to get things done, especially when Congress is involved. But sometimes there are surprises, like Wednesday night’s out-of-nowhere deal between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and conservative Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia. Just weeks ago, Manchin abandoned the reconciliation package because of his concerns about inflation. The new measure, which is slated to pass the Senate with a simple majority, includes provisions on health care and climate change, as well as deficit reduction (including a minimum corporate tax). CNBC’s Emma Newberger explains the bill’s climate provisions here.
— Samantha Subin, Carmen Reinicke, Patti Dohm, Leslie Josephs, Emma Newberger, Jonathan Vanian, Kevin Breuninger and Jordan Novette contributed to this report from CNBC.
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