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People walk along Wall Street outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 03, 2023.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Mixed-up May
The major U.S. stock indices are in a mixed state as May ends. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, on one hand, is up more than 6% heading into the final session of the month, driven in large part by the explosion of artificial intelligence. The Dow, on the other, is down more than 3%. And the broad S&P 500 has risen only slightly in May. The end of the month also brings the U.S. closer to a potential debt default, if Congress doesn’t act (more on that below). Follow live market updates.
2. Huge vote coming up
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, speaks during the House Freedom Caucus news conference to oppose the debt limit deal outside of the US Capitol on Monday, May 30, 2023.
Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
The debt ceiling bill, forged as a compromise between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is headed for a vote Wednesday night on the floor of the House. The measure cleared a key hurdle Tuesday evening, making it out of the House Rules Committee with a 7-6 vote. McCarthy is facing loud resistance from a group of ultra conservatives in his own party, meaning he’ll have to depend a great deal on Democrats to get the bill to the Senate. There, Democrats have their own slight majority. Time is running short, too. The Treasury Department has warned it could run out of money Monday, just five days away.
3. Dimon goes to China
JPMorgan Chase and Company President and CEO Jamie Dimon testifies before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing on “Annual Oversight of the Nation’s Largest Banks”, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 22, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, speaking in Shanghai, called on the U.S. and Chinese governments to cool it and find a way to better work together. “You’re not going to fix these things if you are just sitting across the Pacific yelling at each other, so I’m hoping we have real engagement,” Dimon said, referring to trade and security issues, as he spoke at the JPMorgan Global China Summit. The banker isn’t the only major U.S. CEO who visited China this week against the backdrop of intensifying tension between the countries. Tesla boss Elon Musk met several top officials and executives during his trip.
4. One sentence to warn the world
Sam Altman, chief executive officer and co-founder of OpenAI, speaks during a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023. Congress is debating the potential and pitfalls of artificial intelligence as products like ChatGPT raise questions about the future of creative industries and the ability to tell fact from fiction.
Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Warnings about artificial intelligence are coming almost as rapidly as advancements in the technology. The most recent one, coming in at just one sentence long, might be the starkest yet, however. “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” reads an open letter posted by the Center for AI Safety. It’s signed by a slew of top scientists and executives, including Sam Altman, the head of ChatGPT creator OpenAI. Even as ChatGPT explodes in popularity, reaching more than 100 million users and prompting several competitors to join the race, Altman has been one of the voices calling for regulation to keep AI from becoming something more than a mere tool for humanity. And that seems pretty serious.
5. Mortgage demand slumps
Prospective buyers attend an open house at a home for sale in Larchmont, New York, US, on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mortgage demand is at its lowest point in three months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Rates shot up again recently, nearly hitting 7% by some measures, as it became clear that the Federal Reserve wasn’t going to cut its benchmark rate any time soon. The supply of homes remains tight, as well, and prices look like they’re going higher again. “While refinance demand is almost entirely driven by the level of rates, purchase volume continues to be constrained by the lack of homes on the market,” Michael Fratantoni, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s chief economist, said in a release.
– CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Christina Wilkie, Emma Kinery, Elliot Smith, Sheila Chiang and Diana Olick contributed to this report.
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