5 issues to know earlier than the inventory market opens Thursday, August 15

Listed below are 5 key issues traders must know to start out the buying and selling day:

Inventory futures have been increased Thursday morning after a profitable day for all three main indexes on Wednesday on the again of encouraging U.S. inflation information. The Dow Jones Industrial Common rose 0.61% throughout common buying and selling, whereas the S&P 500 ticked 0.38% increased and the Nasdaq Composite edged up by 0.03%. A readout from the Labor Division Wednesday confirmed the annual inflation fee slowed to 2.9% in July, the bottom year-over-year worth achieve since 2021. The soar within the client worth index was according to what Wall Avenue economists had anticipated, in response to Dow Jones estimates, and is more likely to maintain a September rate of interest minimize by the Federal Reserve on the desk. Comply with dwell market updates.

Should you ask Walmart, the American client is powerful. That was the message of the retailer’s second-quarter earnings report Thursday morning. Walmart topped Wall Avenue expectations on the highest and backside traces and raised its full-year gross sales forecast. “We see, among our members and customers, that they remain choiceful, discerning, value-seeking, focusing on things like essentials rather than discretionary items, but importantly, we don’t see any additional fraying of consumer health,” Chief Monetary Officer John David Rainey advised CNBC’s Melissa Repko in an interview. Learn extra from Walmart’s report.

Lengthy-awaited decrease drug costs are practically right here, for a choose group of medication. The Biden administration on Thursday revealed the outcomes of landmark drug worth negotiations that may carry down the price of 10 pharmaceuticals, that are among the many highest-cost medication lined beneath Medicare Half D insurance coverage. The decrease costs might save the U.S. authorities $6 billion in Medicare financial savings in 2026 alone, after the brand new costs go into impact, the federal government estimated. The value cuts might additionally save Medicare enrollees $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket prices in 2026, U.S. officers mentioned.

There are extra headcount cuts coming at Cisco. The networking big mentioned Wednesday in reporting its quarterly outcomes that it could cut back its international workforce by 7% as a part of a restructuring plan that will end in $1 billion in pre-tax fees. Between $700 million to $800 million of that affect might be acknowledged within the present quarter, Cisco mentioned. It is the second main spherical of layoffs at Cisco in latest months after an announcement in February that it could minimize greater than 4,000 jobs, amounting to five% of its workforce on the time.

Sweet maker Mars is including new objects to its pantry, by way of a $36 billion deal for snack firm Kellanova. The corporate behind manufacturers like Pringles, Cheez-Its and Eggo spun off from former mother or father firm Kellogg final 12 months. Now Mars is snapping it up for $83.50 per share, a roughly 12% premium over the inventory’s Tuesday closing worth. “We buy businesses to grow businesses, and we look to grow for generations,” Mars CEO Poul Weihrauch advised CNBC. The deal is predicted to shut within the first half of 2025.

– CNBC’s Brian Evans, Jesse Pound, Jeff Cox, Melissa Repko, Annika Kim Constantino, Ari Levy and Justine Fisher contributed to this report.