Investors will be watching to see if software maker Adobe (ADBE) can maintain its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven momentum when it reports after the close. August wholesale prices are due to be released. SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission completes first commercial spacewalk. Norfolk Southern (NSC) fires CEO Alan Shaw over his relationship with his general counsel. Global oil demand growth in the first half of the year was the slowest since the pandemic, according to the IEA, due to weakness in China. U.S. stock futures are modestly higher after a gain in Nvidia (NVDA) helped major indexes surge on Wednesday. Here’s what investors need to know today.
1. Adobe expects third-quarter revenue, profit to rise
When Adobe (ADBE) reports its third-quarter results after the close, analysts expect the company to post year-over-year revenue and profit growth, driven by demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Analysts expect quarterly revenue to grow 10% year-over-year to $5.37 billion and profit to grow 12% to $1.57 billion, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. The company may also provide updates on its AI integration and monetization efforts.
2. August Wholesale Price Data Schedule
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for August is scheduled to be released at 8:30 a.m. ET and is likely to bolster investor expectations that interest rates will be cut when the Federal Reserve meets next week. While the consumer price index fell overall in August, rents remain high, fading hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates aggressively. of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires Wholesale prices are expected to rise 0.2% month-on-month in August, up from 0.1% in July, while “core” PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is also expected to rise 0.2% from 0.3% in the previous month.
3. SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission completes first commercial spacewalk
Astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn spacecraft, which launched earlier this week, spent time outside the spacecraft Thursday morning, conducting the first commercial spacewalk. The four-person crew has been in orbit for five days since launching on Tuesday morning, with the company saying the group is orbiting higher above Earth than any space mission since the Apollo program decades ago.
4. Norfolk Southern fires CEO over affair with general counsel
Norfolk Southern Railway (NSC) has fired CEO Alan Shaw over his relationship with the rail freight company’s chief legal officer. The company is investigating allegations of misconduct against Shaw and announced on Wednesday that it had fired him after finding he violated company policy by having a “consensual relationship” with Chief Legal Officer Navanita Nag. Nag was also fired. Shaw was “terminated with immediate effect for cause” and will be replaced by CFO Mark George.
5. China weakness leads to lowest oil demand growth since pandemic, IEA says
Global oil demand grew at its slowest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic hit 2020 in the first half of this year, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest monthly report. The Paris-based organization blamed the drop in oil prices on a “rapid slowdown in China” and the country’s shift to electric vehicles, adding that demand outside China remains “subdued at best.” Oil futures have been hit recently after OPEC, the main coalition of oil-producing countries, cut its demand outlook and growth forecasts, leading the IEA to warn that OPEC and its allies “could face a significant surplus.”
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