Investors will focus on whether Adobe ( ADBE ) can sustain its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven momentum when the software maker reports after the bell; August wholesale prices must; SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission completes first commercial spacewalk; Norfolk Southern (NSC) Fires Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alan Shaw Over Relationship With Chief Legal Officer; and the weakness of China caused the growth of global demand for oil in the first half of the year to be at its lowest level since the pandemic, according to the IEA. U.S. stock futures are inching higher after major indexes rose Wednesday on a rally in Nvidia ( NVDA ) . Here’s what investors need to know today.
1. Adobe is expected to post an increase in Q3 revenue and profit
Analysts expect Adobe ( ADBE ) to increase third-quarter revenue and earnings from the year-ago period when it reports results after the bell, driven in part by demand for artificial intelligence (AI). Analysts are projecting quarterly revenue of $5.37 billion, up 10% year over year, and profit of $1.57 billion, up 12%, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. The company could also provide updates on its AI integration and monetization efforts.
2. August wholesale price data due
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for August is due at 8:30 am ET, which is likely to bolster investor expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve at its meeting next week. Sticky rents, even as headline consumer inflation cooled in August, dampened expectations for aggressive Fed tapering. Economists polled by O Wall Street Journal e Dow Jones Newswires wholesale prices are forecast to grow 0.2% month-on-month in August, up from 0.1% in July, while the “core” PPI – which excludes volatile food and energy prices – also rose 0.2% , down from 0.3% last month.
3. SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission completes first commercial spacewalk
Astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn flight that launched earlier this week spent time outside their spacecraft Thursday morning, the first commercial spacewalk. The four-person crew is in the midst of a five-day orbit after launch Tuesday morning, and the company said the group is orbiting higher above Earth than any space exploration mission since the Apollo missions decades ago.
4. Norfolk Southern Fires CEO on relationship with Chief Legal Officer
Norfolk Southern (NSC) has fired CEO Alan Shaw over a relationship with the rail freight company’s top legal officer. The company was investigating allegations of misconduct against Shaw and said Wednesday that he was fired because it found he violated company policies “by having a consensual relationship” with chief legal officer Nabanita Nag, who was also fired. Shaw, who was fired “for cause, effective immediately,” will be succeeded by Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mark George.
5. Oil demand growth slowest since pandemic on China’s weakness, IEA says
Global oil demand in the first half of the year grew at the slowest level since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest monthly report. The Paris-based organization attributed the decline to a “rapidly slowing China” and the country’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs), adding that demand outside China remains “weak at best.” Crude oil futures have been hit recently as OPEC, a dominant coalition of oil-producing nations, cut its demand outlook and growth projections, and the IEA warned that OPEC and its allies “may be looking at a substantial surplus”.
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