Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Bouncing back
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a new record close on Wednesday, recovering from its previous down day. The 30-stock index gained 337.28 points, or 0.79%, while the e S&P 500 climbed 0.47% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.28%. The earnings seasons has gotten off to a solid start, helping to give markets a boost, as 79% of the roughly 50 S&P 500 stocks that have posted third-quarter earnings so far have beat expectations. Morgan Stanley shares added 6.5% on Wednesday and United Airlines‘ stock soared 12.4% after the companies reported earnings. Follow live market updates.
2. Nuclear option
An Amazon Web Services data center in Stone Ridge, Virginia, US, on Sunday, July 28, 2024. Data center developers in Northern Virginia are asking utility Dominion Energy Inc. for as much power as several nuclear reactors can generate, in the latest sign of how artificial intelligence is helping drive up electricity demand.
Nathan Howard | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon is going nuclear. The company said on Tuesday it’s investing $500 million to develop small modular nuclear reactors. As part of the arrangement, Amazon’s cloud computing subsidiary AWS is teaming up with Dominion Energy, Virginia’s utility company, to explore the development of an advanced type of nuclear reactor with a smaller footprint near Dominion’s existing North Anna nuclear power station. Virginia plays a key role in internet traffic and nearly half of the data centers in the U.S. are located in the state. Amazon is the latest large tech company to support nuclear power as it aims to get to net-zero carbon emissions.
3. Chip craze
The logo for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 26, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Demand for AI chips remains hot. U.S. shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company surged more than 8% in premarket trading on Thursday as the company reported a 54% hike in net profit in the third quarter, surpassing analyst expectations. The chipmaker also forecast annual revenue growth in the fourth quarter. TSMC, the world’s largest producer of advanced chips, counts Apple and Nvidia among its clients.
4. Where there’s a WLFI
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as he participates in a town hall presented by Spanish-language network Univision, in Doral, Florida, U.S., October 16, 2024.
Marco Bello | Reuters
“WLFI”, the crypto coin endorsed by former President Donald Trump, got off to a slow start. Just over a day after crypto bank World Liberty Financial began its token sale, it sold less than 4% of the 20 billion tokens that were made available, an amount worth roughly $11.8 million. The fundraising target was set at $300 million. The new coin faced problems, as the website that serves as its marketplace suffered lengthy outages, and retail investors have largely been cut out of the process because of the way the token is registered.
5. Change up
Milwaukee Brewers’ Sal Frelick hits a double during the fourth inning of Game 2 of a National League wild card baseball game against the New York Mets Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Milwaukee.
Morry Gash | AP
Diamond Sports reached a naming rights agreement with sports betting company FanDuel to rebrand the Bally Sports channels. Pending Diamond’s emergence from bankruptcy, FanDuel will also have the right to buy equity in the reorganized company. The move comes right after the start of the NHL season and as the NBA kickoff is less than a week away. It’s the latest shakeup for Diamond, which said earlier this month in bankruptcy proceedings that it was planning to drop all its MLB teams. Meanwhile, MLB playoff viewership on TNT Sports and Fox Sports has surged this year.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Diana Olick, Ruxandra Iordache, MacKenzie Sigalos and Jake Piazza contributed to this report.