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Markets closed today’s session in the green across the board. The Dow shot forward +431 points, +1.03%, the S&P 500 +0.71%, the Nasdaq +108 points, +0.60% and the small-cap Russell 2000 +0.15%. This, after opening today’s session flat-to-down on each of the major indexes.

Big Morning for Inflation, Jobs Data Thursday

Tomorrow morning, being Thursday, will bring us the latest Weekly Jobless Claims. These are expected to once again be tame, on both the Initial and Continuing Claims: 230K and 1.83 million, respectively. But this will be only the second-most important economic report out ahead of the bell.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers for September are expected to tick down month over month on both headline and core (minus volatile food and energy prices), +0.1% from +0.2% reported a month ago and +0.2% versus +0.3% previous, respectively.

The Inflation Rate, which is CPI year over year headline, is expected to come down 20 basis points from +2.5% to +2.3% — the closest we’ve been to optimum Fed levels of +2% inflation since we were still in the maw of the pandemic. Core CPI year over year is expected to come in at a still-sticky +3.2%, same as a month ago.

When the Fed decided to cut 50 bps off its Fed funds rate three weeks ago, it was because Fed Chair Powell & Co. felt that inflation had been sufficiently tamed — and the labor market subsequently strained — to make a substantive move. We don’t expect to be surprised with much higher CPI figures tomorrow morning.
 

Q3 Earnings Season Starts to Activate: DAL, DPZ, TLRY

Once upon a time, earnings season would ring in each quarter with a fresh report from aluminum giant Alcoa (AA - Free Report), whose results would not only reflect on industries like construction and goods-producing, but its double-A ticker resembled looking for a plumber in the Yellow Pages of yesteryear. These days are over: not only is Delta Air Lines (DAL - Free Report) now the first major Q3 report out this week, it’s not even the first Q3 report out overall.

Delta is running up against tough comps from the year-ago quarter, and are expected to bring in -24% earnings growth, -0.5% on the revenues side. The airline is also trying to reverse its first earnings miss in the last five quarters. It carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and a Value-Growth-Momentum score of A.

Domino’s Pizza (DPZ - Free Report) also reports Q3 earnings ahead of Thursday’s open. It too looks to post negative earnings from the year-ago quarter, -11%, while revenues are expected to grow by +7%. Its trailing four-quarter earnings beat average has been by +11%, and it’s also a Zacks Rank #3.

Canadian cannabis grower Tilray (TLRY - Free Report), reports fiscal Q1 results tomorrow morning, and it expects to see earnings growth of +50%, +24% on revenues. Tilray has both beat and missed expectations by +/-100% two times each over the last four quarters, for an average surprise of 0.0% It is a Zacks Rank #3, as well.

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