5 things to know before the stock market opens on Thursday

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

Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, began laying off employees from the company. The decision, which the company confirmed on Wednesday, was made public just over a week after the Arkansas-based retail giant slashed its full-year profit outlook and warned against the impact of inflation on discretionary spending. “Shoppers are changing. Customers are changing,” Walmart spokeswoman Anne Hatfield told CNBC’s Melissa Repko on Wednesday. “We are restructuring to make sure we are aligned.” Read CNBC’s full story here.

Oil bounced between gains and losses on Thursday morning, a day after crude futures for U.S. and international benchmarks slid nearly 4% and settled at their lowest levels since February. The move came as OPEC and its oil-producing allies said they would only increase output by 100,000 barrels a day in September. An unexpected increase in US crude and gasoline inventories also weighed on energy markets during Wednesday’s session. As of Thursday morning, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading at $90.15 a barrel.

The Bank of England raised interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday, its biggest increase in a single meeting in 27 years as Britain’s central bank tries to reduce inflationary pressures. Notably, the Bank of England now forecasts that the national economy will enter a recession in the fourth quarter of 2022 that could last for more than a year. He expects headline inflation to peak in October at 13.3% and stay above his 2% target through 2025. Read CNBC’s full story from Elliot Smith here.

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