The GM logo is pictured at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Ramos Arizpe, state of Coahuila, Mexico October 7, 2019.
- Market momentum keeps building.
- Lowe's lowered its outlook for the year.
- GM is laying off more than 1,000 salaried employees across the globe.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Lucky number 8
The momentum keeps building in the markets. The S&P 500 climbed 0.97% in trading Monday, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.39%. Both indexes marked their eighth straight winning day, a first for 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, added 236.77 points, or 0.58%. The volatility that started the month has come down, with the CBOE Volatility Index now at 14.7 after topping 65 during the sell-off on Aug. 5. Follow live market updates here.
2. Lowe's lowers outlook
Lowe's beat its second-quarter earnings expectations Tuesday morning, but missed on sales. The home improvement retailer also cut its full-year outlook, citing weakening spending on do-it-yourself projects and a "pressured macroeconomic environment." It said it expects comparable sales to fall by 3.5% to 4%, worse than its prior forecast for a decline of 2% to 3%. The company also said it now expects total sales of $82.7 billion to $83.2 billion for the full year, compared with the $84 billion to $85 billion range it previously expected.
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3. GM layoffs
General Motors is laying off more than 1,000 salaried employees across the globe in the company's software and service department. That includes about 600 jobs at the automaker's tech campus near Detroit. The layoffs — which represent about 1.3% of the 76,000 global salaried workforce at the end of last year — came after a review to streamline the unit's operations, CNBC's Michael Wayland reported Monday. Automakers, including GM, have been trying to reduce costs amid growing fears of an industry downturn.
4. SEC fines Icahn
Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn and his company Icahn Enterprises have settled allegations that he failed to disclose billions of dollars worth of personal margin loans pledged against the value of his stock, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday. Icahn was fined $500,000, and his company was fined $1.5 million as part of the settlement. The SEC alleged that Icahn pledged anywhere from 51% to 82% of Icahn Enterprises shares outstanding to secure billions in margin loans without disclosing that fact to shareholders or federal regulators. Shares of the company fell roughly 5% in trading Monday. Icahn has been facing pressure from another activist short seller, Hindenburg Research, since 2023.
5. Swan song
President Joe Biden passed the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris on the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, touting his accomplishments but saying "I love the job, but I love my country more." His nearly hourlong speech was the capstone of the first night of the DNC, which will end Thursday with Harris officially accepting her party's presidential nomination. Monday's agenda also featured speeches from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Auto Workers president Sean Fain, who fired up the crowd. Harris made a surprise appearance earlier in the night, thanking Biden for his "historic leadership."
— CNBC's Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Melissa Repko, Michael Wayland, Rohan Goswami, Dan Mangan, Kevin Breuninger, Christina Wilkie, Rebecca Picciotto and Josephine Rozzelle contributed to this report.
