5 things to know before the stock market opens on Thursday, October 20

Here are the most important news items investors need to start their trading day:

Shares fell Wednesday, snapping a two-session winning streak, as bond yields surged. It’s a reminder to investors that, even with a higher-than-expected earnings season underway, the Federal Reserve is calling for most shocks these days. The central bank is likely to continue raising its benchmark rate with substantial gains as long as prices continue to rise at the hot pace we’ve seen for years. Could we soon see a peak in yields? DoubleLine’s Jeffrey Gundlach, known as the “Bond King”, tweeted which he thinks could happen between now and the end of the year. Read live market updates here.

Elon Musk said wednesdayafter Tesla quarterly earnings report. He’s talking about a potential recession and whether that could mean production by his industry-leading electric vehicle company slowing down. “We are not reducing our output in any meaningful way, recession or no recession,” he said. Tesla posted better-than-expected earnings, but its shares fell after hours on revenue that fell short of expectations.

Read more: Wall Street will watch automakers for signs of weaker demand

Speaking on electric cars, President Joe Biden on Wednesday awarded $2.8 billion in funding to increase production of batteries for vehicles. The funds, which come from Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure law, will go to companies in at least 12 states. The Department of Energy said the projects will help develop lithium to provide about 2 million EVs annually, graphite to provide about 1.2 million EVs annually, and nickel to provide about 400,000 EVs annually. On the other hand, with the midterm elections coming up, Biden urges oil companies to invest their profits in more production instead of acquisitions. Gas prices are far below their peaks from earlier this year, but they are still high and voters are most worried about inflation and the economy.

The government of Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has imposed nationwide limits on electricity use as the country tries to recover from a new wave of Russian air strikes. Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s national energy company, said “continuous missile attacks are destroying our energy infrastructure, and energy workers need time to restore it”. In another development, Zelenskyy urged Ukrainian men in Russian-occupied areas to resist joining Vladimir Putin’s army. His comments came after Putin imposed martial law in the illegally annexed regions of Ukraine. Read live updates on the war here.

Even with a new finance minister, along with an improved economic plan, the government of British Prime Minister Liz Truss still teetering on the edge of total defeat. After just six weeks on the job, Truss is facing pressure from many sides to quit after her government sent UK markets into chaos with proposals to cut taxes on the wealthy while The country deals with high levels of inequality and the cost of living. crisis. Truss told a heated session of Congress on Wednesday that she was a “fighter, not a quitter.” But then another member of her Cabinet quit, and a member of her Conservative Party said she only had Thursday and possibly Friday to turn things around.

– Sarah Min, Jonathan Vanian, Emma Newburger, Emma Kinery, Holly Ellyatt and CNBC’s Annie Nova contributed to this report.

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