5 things to know before the stock market opens on Wednesday

Happy Wednesday. Even the Television Academy is cutting the cord. Starting next year, the Emmy Awards will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video under an exclusive six-year deal announced yesterday.

Stock futures are falling this morning. S&P500 It closed at a record high yesterday.

Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.

Stock investors have officially overcome another wall of fear. The S&P 500 index closed yesterday’s session above 7,800 for the first time, its first record close in nearly two months.

Here’s what you need to know:

President Donald Trump has directed federal immigration officials to be in major U.S. cities during his second term. A series of studies has found that areas where Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids tend to experience economic downturns.

A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that areas targeted by ICE raids saw a decline in spending and foot traffic, which could create a “recession-like situation,” said Zeke Hernandez, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The Brookings Institution reported last month that jobs were down in cities hardest hit by ICE raids.

CNBC visited Minneapolis, where the Department of Homeland Security conducted Operation Metro Surge. It was billed as the largest immigration enforcement event in history. The city estimates it lost about $700 million in economic activity from December to April, and the state’s unemployment rate has soared to above the national average for the first time in nearly 20 years.

In an effort to improve the experience of doing business using artificial intelligence bots, meta is teaming up with walmartStripe, Sierra, and others will roll out “Personal Agent Protocols.”

The protocol will be an open standard aimed at clarifying how AI agents can work with enterprises, CNBC’s Kate Rooney reports. Sierra co-founder Brett Taylor, who is leading the effort, told CNBC that without such a rulebook, “it’s kind of a mess.”

Anthropic also focuses on business customers. The AI ​​startup yesterday announced enhancements to its Claude Startups program, its latest effort to attract founders and growing companies. This expansion opens the program to more businesses and gives members access to thousands of dollars worth of products and credits.

A bipartisan Congressional committee said in a report this morning that online trading platforms Webull It is “structurally tied” to the Chinese government and poses a national security threat to U.S. finances.

As CNBC’s Eamonn Javers writes, the House Select Committee on China argues that trading platforms’ “software development, data pipelines, and core engineering operations” all rely on infrastructure that follows Chinese government laws, potentially forcing companies to cooperate with the government. The commission also said Webull misrepresented the number of employees based in China.

Shares of Nasdaq-listed Webull fell nearly 30% in pre-market trading this morning. A company spokesperson said: “We are extremely disappointed that the special committee issued a report containing significant inaccuracies and unsupported conclusions without asking Webull for an explanation.”

Research shows that housing costs are the top political issue for young people. But that doesn’t mean they’re looking to political candidates for help.

The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Quarterly Money Survey released this week shows Americans are feeling the pinch when it comes to shelter costs, especially when it comes to renting. The data comes as mortgage interest rates accelerate and home prices continue to rise.

CNBC’s Diana Orrick visited Pennsylvania, a key battleground state where November’s House elections could determine which party controls Congress. Housing costs in the Keystone State are below the national average, but their share of required income has increased in recent years.

The US trade deficit widened in August to its highest level since March 2025. According to the Ministry of Commerce, the main figures are as follows.

Total deficit: $105.6 billion Month-over-month increase: 13.7%

— CNBC’s Deena Zaidi, Sean Conlon, Spencer Kimball, Kate Rooney, Ashley Caputo, Eamonn Javers, Diana Orrick and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

Caleigh Keating helped produce this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.