Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:
- Dow set to jump as optimism builds for a debt celling deal
- Bond yields rose following before-the-bell jobless claims data
- McConnell wants to give Dems time to act alone on debt ceiling
- Biden to tout Covid vaccine mandates for large companies
- George Soros' fund owns 'some' bitcoin, CEO of the fund confirms
1. Dow set to jump as optimism builds for a debt celling deal
Dow futures rose 300 points Thursday as Democratic senators signaled they were receptive to a debt ceiling offer from Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell that would allow an emergency increase into December. Optimism about a possible deal swung Wall Street from sharp early Wednesday losses to modest gains at the close for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. All three benchmarks were tracking Thursday for three-session winning streaks after October started off with sharp back-and-forth losses and gains.
2. Bond yields rose following before-the-bell jobless claims data
The 10-year Treasury yield rose Thursday, trading above 1.54%, after the Labor Department announced better-than-expected weekly initial jobless claims figures. First-time filings for unemployment benefits fell to 326,000 for the week ended Oct. 2. Economists had expected 345,000 new claims. The government issues its September employment report Friday. ADP's look at private sector hiring trends last month, released Wednesday, came in stronger than expected.
3. McConnell wants to give Dems time to act alone on debt ceiling
McConnell late Wednesday said his debt ceiling offer would give Democrats time to use their majorities on Capitol Hill to craft a bill to raise the borrowing limit on their own without Republican votes. The deadline to take action on the debt limit and avoid a U.S. credit default is Oct. 18. If Democrats accept McConnell's offer, lawmakers will again face pressing deadlines to fund the government and raise the debt limit before heading home for the holidays.
4. Biden to tout Covid vaccine mandates for large companies
President Joe Biden on Thursday is set to visit Chicago to meet with United Airlines' CEO and local Democratic leaders as he touts his decision to impose Covid vaccine mandates on employees of large firms. Biden last month ordered all federal workers and contractors to be vaccinated, with few exceptions. For private employers with 100 or more workers, he proposed requiring employees to be vaccinated or tested weekly. Meanwhile, Pfizer said Thursday it asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its Covid vaccine with BioNTech for kids ages 5 to 11.
5. George Soros' fund owns 'some' bitcoin, CEO of the fund confirms
Soros Fund Management, the asset management company founded by billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, has revealed it owns the cryptocurrency bitcoin. The family office owns "some coins … but not a lot," Dawn Fitzpatrick, CEO and chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, said in an interview at a Bloomberg event this week. While lower Thursday, bitcoin has staged a comeback in recent days, trading above $54,000.
— The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Follow all the market action like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest on the pandemic with CNBC's coronavirus coverage.
