Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Regaining the rally?
Stock futures are higher Thursday morning as the market appears poised to regain the ground it lost earlier this week. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rose 0.96% and recaptured the 5,000 benchmark, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked 0.4% higher. “Looking forward, the market is trading more on economic growth and earnings projections than interest rates and inflation,” said Dylan Kremer, chief investment officer at Certuity. In global markets, the U.K. and Japan both slipped into technical recession during the fourth quarter. Japan gave up its spot as the No. 3 economy. Follow for live market updates.
2. Cuts continue
The CISCO brand logo during the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2023.
Ramon Costa | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Cisco announced over 4,000 job cuts, a 5% dent to its global workforce. The tech company is the latest in a string to announce of layoffs aimed at restructuring and saving costs. Since the new year, 144 tech companies have laid off almost 35,000 workers, according to the website Layoffs.fyi. Cisco also reported strong fiscal second-quarter results Wednesday afternoon, coupled with a light forecast.
3. Pulse check
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US has seen an increase in drug overdose deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerating significantly during the first months of the public health emergency, including deaths from opioids and counterfeit pills containing fentanyl.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
The Federal Trade Commission is examining the impact that drug wholesalers and companies that purchase medicines for healthcare providers are having on the drug shortage. The announcement follows an unprecedented strain on the availability of medicine, ranging from generic drugs to cancer therapies. The FTC and the Department of Health and…
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