5 things you need to know before the fair opens on Thursday 28 October

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

US stock futures were higher on Thursday as investors benefited from strong before-the-bell earnings from two Dow stocks and mixed economic data.

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

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 fell from record highs on Wednesday, with winning streaks of three and two sessions, respectively. The Nasdaq closed almost flat, remaining less than 1% from its last record high on Sept. 7.

Dow stock Caterpillar rose 1.5% in premarket trading after heavy equipment manufacturer on Thursday reported better-than-expected adjusted earnings for the third quarter of $2.66 per share. Third quarter revenue of $12.4 billion was slightly lower than expected. Another Dow stock, Merck, rose nearly 2% after the drugmaker said On Thursday, it earned an adjusted $1.75 a share in the third quarter. Revenue of $13.1 billion also exceeded estimates. Merck raised its outlook for the full year.

Apple and Amazon top the long list of companies reporting their quarterly results after Thursday’s closing bell on Wall Street. In July, Dow component Apple said growth in the next quarter of September would not be as strong as it was in the June quarter. Amazon, after missing its first quarterly revenue in three years in July, gave a weak outlook for the third quarter. Investors will see how those outlook warnings turn out. Shares of Apple and Amazon were slightly higher in premarket trading.

Ford shares rose more than 8% in Thursday’s premarket, the morning after the automaker reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of 51 cents a share, nearly doubling estimates. Third quarter revenue of $33.21 billion also exceeded expectations. Ford increased the annual guidance for the second time this year. The company also said it would restore its regular dividend from the fourth quarter, more than a year and a half after suspending payments during the early days of Covid.

President Joe Biden will announce Thursday that he has reached a deal with Democratic senators on a social spending and climate bill, according to multiple sources with knowledge of his plans. The deal represents the culmination of months of sometimes tense negotiations between moderate and progressive lawmakers. It was unclear whether the deal would be concrete enough to convince House progressives to support a stalled bipartisan infrastructure bill already passed in the Senate. Biden is scheduled to leave later Thursday for a week of meetings in Europe, including a Friday meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Top managers of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP America and Shell are ready to give evidence at a hearing Thursday as Congressional Democrats examine what they describe as a decades-long, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming. Separately, Shell missed third-quarter earnings estimates on Thursday, a day after activist investor Dan Loeb called for the company’s breakup. Loeb’s Third Point had accumulated an approximately $750 million stake in Shell, according to several media reports that could not be independently verified by CNBC.

— The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow all market actions like a pro CNBC Pro. Get the latest news about the pandemic with CNBC’s Coronavirus Coverage.