5 things to know before the stock market opens Friday

Ferrari technicians inspect supercars on the production line inside the company’s factory in Maranello, Italy, October 2, 2025. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

Remo Casilli | Reuters

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Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. Heard on the street

There’s a new hot term on Wall Street: the “debasement trade.” It explains the recent gains in metals, crypto and stocks, even as the U.S. dollar declines amid concerns around the greenback’s future.

Here are the other market stories we’re following:

2. And then there were five

The list of Federal Reserve Chair candidates has been whittled down to five from 11, Treasury sources tell CNBC.

Those still in the running to succeed Jerome Powell include current Fed officials Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller. Waller told CNBC just this morning that while he sees more rate cuts ahead, the Fed needs to be “cautious about it.”

External candidates such as BlackRock Fixed Income CIO Rick Rieder are also on the shortlist. See the full list of candidates here.

3. Bracket bumps

4. Indicted

A federal grand jury in Virginia last night indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. President Donald Trump has pushed for criminal charges against James, who called the allegations “baseless” and “a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.”

Meanwhile in Washington, funding bills that could have ended the federal shutdown failed to pass the Senate for a seventh time. During a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Trump threatened to use the shutdown to cut “Democrat programs” that “aren’t popular with Republicans.”

Get Morning Squawk directly in your inbox5. Sitting pretty

Delta passengers are opting for the finer things in life.

Airline executives said Thursday that those nicer, more expensive seats toward the front of the plane could start bringing in higher total revenue than their coach counterparts for at least part of next year. Delta’s premium ticket sales have risen 9% from a year ago, and the carrier doesn’t see signs of higher-end travel demand cooling.

But United is aiming to give Delta a run for its money. The air carrier yesterday unveiled a slate of direct flights to smaller European cities in a bid to win luxury travel market share.

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