News Highlights: Top Global Markets News of the Day - Thursday at 11 PM ET

U.S. Port Workers Agree to End Their Strike 
 

Companies sweeten contract offer to a 62% wage increase to reopen ports from Maine to Texas.

 
U.S. Stocks Fall as Oil Prices Jump 
 

All three major indexes fell, led by the Dow industrials. Markets have been volatile in recent days with tensions ratcheting up between Israel and Iran.

 
Investors fearing a scary start to October should focus instead on Friday's jobs report 
 

Jobs data still holds sway when it comes to the Fed and interest rates, making it crucial to a jittery market

 
Oil Surges After Biden Says U.S. Discussing Israel Attack on Iran Facilities 
 

A calm 2024 for petroleum prices has given way to bets that a spike in energy prices could follow.

 
Investors Ignore Widening U.S. Budget Gap, at Their Own Peril 
 

As investors focus on the pace of interest rate cuts in the U.S., the country's ballooning-and politically sensitive-debt load poses risks that markets are not being priced in, according to some estimates.

 
CEOs Are on the Hunt for More M&A. Where the Next Deals Are. 
 

Dealmaking is up this year and doesn't look like it will slow down in 2025. Merck is an example of a company that could easily buy a smaller one.

 
Weekly U.S. Jobless Claims Rise Ahead of September Unemployment Report 
 

In the week through Sept. 28, there were 225,000 initial jobless claims, compared economists expectations of 220,000 initial claims.

 
Factory orders drop in August, the third decline in the past four months 
 

Orders for manufactured goods fell 0.2% in August after a strong gain in the prior month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. It is the third decline in orders in the past four months.

 
U.S. Services Sector Leaps Forward, ISM Survey Suggests 
 

The Institute for Supply Management's services-activity index increased to 54.9 in September from 51.5 in August, well beyond the small increase expected by economists.

 
Pound slides as Bank of England chief says it could be 'more aggressive' in cutting rates 
 

The pound fell sharply Thursday after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the central bank could be more aggressive in cutting borrowing costs if inflation remained benign.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 03, 2024 23:15 ET (03:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.