5 things to know before the stock market opens on Monday, October 3

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

Welcome to the fourth quarter. It’s been a tough year for equities and it doesn’t look like the luck in the markets will change dramatically, if at all, over the past three months. All three major indices ended a losing quarter and a losing month on Friday, with the Dow Jones closing below 29,000 for the first time since November 2020. All of them also suffered three unprofitable quarters in a row. Could things get even bleaker, at least for stocks? The economy is still in a hot state despite the Federal Reserve’s best efforts to cool it down with an aggressive rate hike plan. Read real-time market updates here.

Tax cuts? What are the tax benefits? British Prime Minister Liz Truss staggeringly abandoned her new government’s plan to drastically cut the tax rate on Britain’s wealthiest people. The country was battling a cost-of-living crisis and critics saw the tax cuts as a gift to the wealthy. Truss and Finance Minister Kwasi Kwarteng, refusing to change the policy, said the tax cuts were a “distraction”. However, it was something more. Markets overwhelmingly rejected the plan, causing stocks and the pound to fall. This, in turn, forced the Bank of England to intervene in the program of temporary bond purchases. However, according to analysts, there is still a lot of work to be done. “While UK assets are responding well to the reversal, they are far from getting out of the woods,” said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Dutch bank Rabobank.

Electric vehicle leader Tesla said it shipped more cars in the third quarter than it did in the same period a year ago. The Elon Musk-led company said it had delivered 343,000 vehicles, up from 254,695 deliveries in the third quarter of 2021. Deliveries are considered the closest reflection of Tesla sales. Analysts expected 364,660 deliveries. Tesla, like other automakers, has faced higher production costs and supply chain problems. His new factories in Texas and Germany also caused some problems: Musk called them “giant cash ovens”.

Russia’s already dubious annexation of parts of Ukraine is not going so well. Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally claimed four regions in Ukraine, Ukrainian forces recaptured Liman, an important transport and shipping hub in the eastern part of the country. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, they have also seized territory in the surrounding areas. British intelligence shows that Putin’s recent mobilization of some 300,000 reservists for the war effort is also a failure. “Putin’s unusually quick recognition of problems highlights the dysfunction of mobilization during the first week. Local authorities likely do not understand the exact scope and legal basis of the campaign,” the UK Department of Defense said on Twitter. Read live news about the war in Ukraine here.

Walmart+ is a subscription service owned by Walmart has been around for two years. It started during the pandemic, when people were still afraid to go out shopping. It offers free shipping and delivery as well as discounts. But who needs another subscription when you already have Amazon Prime and club memberships like those offered by Walmart-owned Sam’s Club? While the company says registrations and renewals have held steady lately, the discount retailer and grocer believes it can make a bigger push during this time of rising inflation. “This is the time when Walmart shines,” said Chris Cracchiolo, head of Walmart+. “This is what we do best. When there is uncertainty, when there is inflation, when clients have very, very limited budgets.”