5 things to know before the stock exchange opens on Thursday 25 August

Here are the key news investors need to start their trading day:

Stock futures pointed to a higher open Thursday after a positive Wednesday for all three major U.S. indexes. Markets appear to be getting back on track heading into September after the summer rally lost some momentum this month. Investors are eager for clues about what the Federal Reserve will do at its meeting next month to fight inflation. A couple of days of comments from Fed speakers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, starting Thursday, may well scratch that itch. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak on Friday.

Losses continue to pile up for Peloton, the fitness equipment maker that became a phenomenon during the Covid pandemic shutdowns only to bottom out, and then some, after people started to leave their homes again. On Thursday, the company posted its sixth straight quarter of reported losses as sales kicked in and its gross margin hit an astounding negative 98.1[ads1]% in its fiscal fourth quarter. (That was a positive 11.7% in the year-ago period.) Peloton didn’t even bother to provide full-year guidance. The report came a day after investors celebrated news that Peloton began selling gear and apparel through Amazon, marking the company’s first such deal with another retailer.

Shares of enterprise software maker Salesforce fell in after-hours trading after the company cut its outlook for the year. “Almost everyone I’ve talked to is taking a more targeted approach to their business,” company co-founder and co-CEO Marc Benioff said on a conference call with analysts. “We expect these trends to continue in the near term and we have reflected this in our guidance.” Salesforce also approved a $10 billion share buyback program. It’s also raising prices for Slack, the team messaging app it bought last year for $28 billion as it became clear that hybrid work arrangements were here to stay.

Amazon’s telehealth service, Amazon Care, will shut down at the end of the year. It marks a major step back for Amazon, although its ambitions in the healthcare space remain robust. Amazon Care helped the company understand “what is needed over the long term to deliver meaningful healthcare for businesses and individual customers,” the service’s chief executive, Neil Lindsay, wrote in the note. The company struck a deal to buy primary care provider One Medical last month, and it is reportedly bidding for Signify Health, a home health care provider.

September is just around the corner. That means it’s Apple season. The tech giant on Wednesday sent out cosmic-themed invitations to a big event on Sept. 7, when it’s expected to unveil the latest iPhones. Both investors and consumers will be watching to see if Apple will jack up its already premium prices given supply chain issues and inflation, writes CNBC’s Kif Leswing. Apple may also unveil a new Apple Watch at the event.

— CNBC’s Carmen Reinicke, Lauren Thomas, Jordan Novet, Annie Palmer and Kif Leswing contributed to this report.

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