5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday, Oct. 28

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

U.S. stock futures were higher Thursday as investors picked through strong before-the-bell earnings from two Dow stocks and mixed economic data.

• The government said Thursday its first look at third-quarter gross domestic product only showed a 2% advance. That’s slower than estimates and the second quarter’s Covid recovery boom of 6.7%.
• First-time filings for unemployment benefits hit another Covid-era low, totaling a better-than-expected 281,000 for the week ended Oct. 23.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 on Wednesday fell from record highs, snapping a three-session and a two-session winning streak, respectively. The Nasdaq closed basically flat, remaining less than 1% away from its latest record high on Sept. 7.

Dow stock Caterpillar was rising 1.5% in premarket trading after the heavy equipment maker on Thursday reported better-than-expected adjusted third-quarter earnings of $2.66 per share. Revenue of $12.4 billion in Q3 was slightly below expectations. Another Dow stock, Merck, was up nearly 2% after the drugmaker said Thursday it earned an adjusted $1.75 per share in the third quarter. Revenue of $13.1 billion also beat estimates. Merck raised its full-year outlook.

Apple and Amazon lead the long list of companies schedule to report quarterly earnings after Thursday’s closing bell on Wall Street. In July, Dow component Apple said growth in its upcoming September quarter would not be as strong as its June quarter. Amazon, after reporting in July its first quarterly revenue miss in three years, gave weak third-quarter guidance. Investors will see how those outlook warnings play out. Shares of Apple and Amazon were modestly higher in premarket trading.

Ford shares were soaring more than 8% in Thursday’s premarket, the morning after the automaker reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of 51 cents per share, which nearly doubled estimates. Revenue of $33.21 billion in Q3 also beat expectations. Ford increased annual guidance for the second time this year. The company also said it would reinstate its regular dividend starting in the fourth quarter, more than a year and a half after suspending the payments during the early days of Covid.