Here are five important things investors should know to start the trading day:
1. Market Barely Moved
The three main stock indexes closed slightly above break-even on Wednesday, as rising tensions in the Middle East affected the market. The S&P 500 went up by only 0.01%, the Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.08%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew by 0.09%.
Oil prices (West Texas Intermediate) kept rising after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. Energy stocks did well, and it was the only S&P 500 sector that increased by more than 1% during the day. Also, before the big jobs report on Friday, data from ADP on Wednesday showed better-than-expected private payroll growth for September.
2. OpenAI’s Value
How much is one of the top tech companies worth? OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, completed a long-awaited funding round with a valuation of $157 billion. This includes the $6.6 billion raised from various investment firms and big tech companies.
The round was led by Thrive Capital, with support from Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, and others. OpenAI said the new funding will help strengthen their AI research, boost compute power, and continue building tools to solve difficult problems.
3. U.S. Auto Slowdown
Predictions that U.S. automakers would see a decline in sales during the third quarter seem to be coming true. Stellantis reported a 19.8% drop in sales compared to last year and an 11.5% decrease since the second quarter.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares fell by more than 3% on Wednesday after reporting lower-than-expected deliveries. Even though Tesla’s stock performed well in the third quarter, this news concerned shareholders, especially as the company faces growing competition from other automakers both in the U.S. and China.
4. Lilly Expands Research
Eli Lilly will invest $4.5 billion to create a new research and manufacturing center after the success of its two weight loss drugs. The facility, called the Lilly Medicine Foundry, will focus on developing new and more efficient ways to produce medicine.
This investment builds on the success of Mounjaro and Zepbound, which are expected to generate $50 billion by 2028. The foundry will be the first to combine research and production in one place and will focus on creating new treatments for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases like ALS.
5. Want to bet?
Americans may soon be able to place bets on the results of the 2024 congressional elections—and possibly other federal elections. A federal appeals court ruled against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which tried to stop the commodities exchange KalshiEx from offering “Congressional Control Contracts.”
The commission argued these contracts could harm trust in elections, but a district court ruled they didn’t count as betting or gambling. After the commission appealed, the federal court unanimously sided with KalshiEx, suggesting that contracts on U.S. presidential elections could be next.
Summary
Investors should watch the steady market, OpenAI’s growing worth, dropping U.S. car sales, Eli Lilly’s big research investment, and the chance to bet on U.S. elections. These could affect the market and bring important opportunities or challenges in the future.
