5 things to know before the stock market opens on Wednesday

Happy Wednesday. A strategic war for Gen Z’s attention is brewing, and it involves everything from neon signs to dead mascots.

Stock futures are falling this morning. of S&P500 Yesterday’s session ended with little change.

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

The September Consumer Price Index, a basket of goods and services tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, will be released this morning. This is the last CPI data before the midterm elections, and economists hope it will show that price increases are accelerating again.

Here’s what you need to know:

Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the headline CPI to rise 0.6% from August and 3.6% from a year ago. Rising energy costs have been a major driver of inflation since the Iran war began in February. Crude oil prices rose this morning after the International Energy Agency said it expects diesel supplies to remain tight in the second half of next year. Ahead of today’s data release, New York Fed President John Williams told Bloomberg News that he sees “disinflationary forces at work” and that the central bank may not need to raise rates in 2027. Many investors, concerned about rising prices, are turning to inflation-protected bonds. Tomorrow we’ll have last month’s producer price index, so we’ll have more data. A measure of wholesale inflation. The S&P 500 is having a sleepy week so far while Wall Street awaits this morning’s report. Follow us here for live market updates.

shares of bank of america Shares fell more than 4% in premarket trading after the bank reported a sharp drop in third-quarter profit due to the impact of a $1.2 billion fine from the U.S. Treasury Department. The company’s earnings for the same period were also disappointing, falling below Wall Street expectations.

The Treasury yesterday announced a ten-figure fine for the bank for allegedly violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The penalty weighed on Bank of America’s earnings, reducing earnings per share by 17 cents. As CNBC’s Hugh Song writes, the fine could lead to questions about CEO Brian Moynihan’s handle for the bank.

meanwhile, morgan stanley The company beat expectations for its record and bottom line this morning, with equity trading revenue exceeding analysts’ expectations by more than $900 million. Bank of America’s Mr. Moynihan and Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick will appear on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” today. Watch live on CNBC or CNBC+.

Anthropic plans to release its third-quarter results to a group of institutional investors today, two people familiar with the matter told CNBC. The meeting, to be held at the company’s San Francisco headquarters, comes as Claude Maker prepares for a record initial public offering.

Revenue numbers from private AI giants are also becoming increasingly important to technology investors. Just last week, OpenAI’s updated revenue statistics sent stock prices down across the sector and raised questions about how Anthropic would book sales and partner revenue.

Speaking of OpenAI: The company and the Department of Justice announced yesterday that a “sophisticated recording device” was discovered in a boardroom and one of its employees was arrested. The Ministry of Justice announced that Abdulrahman Alfozan, a citizen of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was arrested last week in connection with the case.

In 2024, Latino voters in South Texas surprised election observers when the historically Democratic-leaning group turned to President Donald Trump. They may contest next month’s midterm elections.

After the Republican Party’s landslide victory in 2024, the party became optimistic that it could further strengthen its momentum with Hispanic voters. But enthusiasm for the Republican Party appears to be waning amid concerns about inflation and immigration policy.

CNBC’s Justin Papp traveled to the Lone Star State to speak to voters in South Texas, where three House races in majority-Hispanic border districts could determine which party controls Congress next year.

apple On Tuesday, a new home hub called HomeView debuted. Priced at $299, the device has a 7-inch screen and is designed to be placed on a table or mounted on a wall. It also acts as a smart hub for the whole family’s Apple devices.

As CNBC’s Kif Lewsing writes, Apple appears to be using HomeView and the new Apple TV and HomePod hardware announced yesterday as a showcase for new Siri features. These new products also mark Apple’s first non-iPhone products under new CEO John Ternus.

The attack on Saudi Arabia’s second-busiest airport spotlights how civil aviation has become a major target in global conflicts. Here’s how traffic at the Middle East’s busiest airport changed last year.

—CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Chloe Taylor, Hew Song, Leslie Picker, Kate Rooney, CJ Haddad, Justin Papp, Kif Lesswing, Leslie Josephs and Gabriel Cortez contributed to this report.

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