US stock markets: live updates

A strong dollar may have been another headwind for the stock market in September.

On Thursday, the dollar index was headed for its fifth consecutive daily advance, near a six-month high, and was on track for its eighth consecutive weekly gain – the latest for the first time since February 2015. The index measures the greenback against six leading currencies. But mostly the euro and the Japanese yen.

The Chinese yuan (which is not in the index) is at its weakest level since December 2007, while the euro and the British pound (in the index) are at their lowest levels in three months.

Although a strong dollar helps American tourists in Paris, the problem with equities is that it raises the costs of American exports, hurts US competitiveness, and reduces the value of profits earned outside the US when translated into dollars.

Scott Schneiber, Gina Francola

Here are the biggest drivers of the premarket on Thursday:

• WestRock — Shares rose 6.7% following the Wall Street Journal mentioned that the company is close to merging with European company Smurfit Kappa in a deal that could create a global paper and packaging giant worth about $20 billion.
• Apple — Apple shares fell 2.9% on the Bloomberg news mentioned China plans to extend the ban on iPhone use to state-owned companies.
• Dutch Bros – The drive-thru coffee chain dropped 5.8% in pre-market trading after it announced a A public offering of shares worth $300 million of its Class A common stock after the market close on Wednesday.

Read here for the full list of stocks that are moving.

– Piya Singh

Shares of McDonald’s rose about 1% in premarket trading after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to overweight and said the fast food chain was “fire on all cylinders.”

“Despite the apparent slowdown, we’re seeing an uptick of up to two hours,” analyst Zachary Vadim told clients. Even after beating comparable same-store stats in Q1 and Q2, “we think MCD is just getting started.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

– Alex Haring

Apple shares fell more than 2% after that Bloomberg News China is reported to be planning to extend the ban on iPhone use to state-owned enterprises. A day earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that China was moving to ban iPhone use in government agencies.

Bank of America’s Savita Subramanian said the bank expects the equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 to outperform the maximum-weighted version of the index. Why? (1) earnings growth bottomed out in the second quarter, and investors tend to become price sensitive as growth accelerates. (2) value stocks are historically inexpensive; and (3) our system model has shifted to recovery, which favors deep value. “.

Fred Imbert, Michael Bloom

China’s exports and imports fell less-than-expected in August, down 8.8% and 7.3% y/y, respectively.

This is less sharp than the 9.2% decline in exports and 9% in imports that economists polled by Reuters had expected.

The country’s trade balance came in at $68.36 billion, lower than the $80.6 billion recorded in June and also less than the $73.9 billion expected in the Reuters poll.

– Lim Hwi Ji

Australia’s trade surplus As for July, it came in at A$8.04 billion (US$7 billion), nearly a third below June’s revised figure of A$10.27 billion.

The figure was also less than the A$10 billion surplus that economists polled by Reuters had expected.

Exports fell 2% on a monthly basis, led by a decline driven by non-monetary gold, while imports rose 2.5%, led by imports of non-industrial transportation equipment.

– Lim Hwi Ji

India’s consumer market is expected to become the third largest consumer market in the world by 2027 with a rising number of middle-to-high-income households, according to a report by BMI.

The report predicted that the per capita growth of Indian household spending would outpace that of other developing Asian economies such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, by 7.8% on an annual basis.

BMI estimates indicate that Indian household spending will exceed $3 trillion with disposable income rising at a compound rate of 14.6% annually until 2027. By then, 25.8% of Indian households are expected to reach $10,000 in annual disposable income.

“The majority of these households will be located in economic hubs, such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The wealthiest households are mainly located in urban areas, making it easier for retailers to target their key target markets,” BMI said.

Read the full story here.

— Charmaine Jacob

October West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude contracts reached $88.08 a barrel on Wednesday, the highest price since November 15, 2022, when crude traded at $88.68 a barrel. (A barrel of oil contains 42 gallons). WTI is up 9.1% so far in 2023.

November Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, closed at $90.60 a barrel on Wednesday and are up 5.5% in 2023.

September RBOB gasoline futures (RBOB stands for Reformulated Oxygen Blend) rose 0.80% on Wednesday to $2.6014 a gallon, up 5.8% year-to-date.

Scott Schneiber, Gina Francola

Stock futures were little changed on Wednesday, as Wall Street now focused on the future path of the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rates.

Futures contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures were down 0.02%, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.06%.

– Brian Evans