Bears found an edge early in the day after inflation data came out, but bulls battled back midday and held on into the close. Tomorrow’s a big day with retail sales and Walmart giving investors a much-needed read into U.S. consumer trends. Let’s see what else you missed. 👀

Today's issue covers inflation’s progress, $K shares rocketing to Mars, Victoria’s Secret soaring on CEO news, & Apple’s latest “innovation.” 📰

Here’s the S&P 500 heatmap. 8 of 11 sectors closed green, with financials (+1.22%) leading and communications (-0.57%) lagging.

And here are the closing prices: 

Most bullish/bearish symbols on Stocktwits at the close: 📈 $RSKD, $ALBT, $LITE, $VSCO, $SIGA 📉 $EAT, $VLD, $SPRB, $DLO, $SBUX*

*If you’re a business and want to access this data via our API, email us.

U.S. consumer price growth slowed to 2.90% YoY, its lowest rate since 2021. Core CPI rose 0.20% MoM and 3.20% YoY, meeting expectations and furthering the case for a September rate cut. 🔻

Certain aspects of inflation remain sticky, but shelter prices once again made up the vast majority of this month’s gains. Eggs and subscription/rental prices for videos/video games made headlines due to a more than 5% jump each.

Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest level in over a year, and people are taking advantage, with refinances surging 35% WoW and 120% YoY. 🏘️

Despite some relief, consumer sentiment remains subdued by ‘recession-like’ symptoms hitting Americans across the low to middle-income scales.

Additionally, concerns about the global economy remain. China’s Baowu is the world’s largest producer of steel, controlling 7% of the market. It warned that China’s steel sector is experiencing a '“harsh winter” that will be “Longer, colder, and more difficult to endure than we expected.”

Industrial metals like steel are an important barometer of economic demand, and right now, China is dealing with a major oversupply issue given its sluggish economy and overall growth trajectory. ⚠️

Earlier in the week, Kellanova shares soared on rumors that M&M owner Mars is acquiring the Kellogg spin-off company. Today, that rumor was confirmed.

Mars is buying the snack-focused company for $35.90 billion in cash, bringing together several of the largest U.S. candy and snack brands. 🥨

If it receives regulatory approval, the move will make WK Kellogg Co. the last publicly traded part of the business. The cereal segment will continue to trade under the ticker symbol $KLG.

Stocktwits sentiment ticked back into ‘bullish’ territory, but investors remain skeptical about the company’s long-term potential now that the “better” part of the spinoff has found a suitor. 🤷

The easiest way to raise your stock price has been to mention artificial intelligence (AI), but for beaten-down companies where that’s not an option, executive changes are doing the trick.

Starbucks pulled the CEO lever by stealing Chipotle’s top guy, and its stock soared 25%. Today, Victoria’s Secret followed suit, snagging Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty CEO as its new leader and sending shares higher by 16%.

While the stock is still down significantly from its all-time highs, retail investors are betting on this experienced CEO to turn the ship around. Stocktwits sentiment hit a one-year high at 97/100 on the news. 🐂

Meanwhile, the market is scouring the latest 13-F filings to see what the biggest players did last quarter. 🕵️

Since we’re talking consumer brands, it’s worth mentioning Berkshire Hathaway taking a stake in Ulta Beauty, Bill Ackman buying Nike shares, and Michael Burry adding to his Alibaba position. 📝

Stocktoberfest is back with an intimate event for executives, influencers, and the most active investors in financial markets on October 20-22. 🤝

Network with industry thought leaders like Howard Lindzon, Michael Batnick, Brian Shannon, Michael Parekh, and many more during the 2-day palooza.

Less than 50 tickets remain, so grab your seat now, and we'll see you in beautiful Coronado, CA! 😎

The consumer tech giant’s plans “leaked” and were all the buzz on social media this afternoon. As expected, many poked fun at the ‘new,’ thinner iPhone 17.

Additionally, Bloomberg reported that Apple is moving forward with developing a pricey tabletop home device that combines an iPad-like display with a robotic limb. Again, not something anyone was asking for, but maybe it could be the next big thing. 🦾

Meanwhile, Cisco is jumping on the news that it will reallocate its resources toward AI and cybersecurity, cutting 7% of its workforce in the process.

While the “Magnificent 7” have more cash than they know what to do with, the other tech dinosaurs, like Cisco and Intel, struggle to find direction in this brave new world. Time will tell if their cuts are enough to turn things around. ✂️

Economic data: retail sales (8:30 am ET), initial/continuing jobless claims (8:30 am ET), industrial production (9:15 am ET), business inventories (10:00 am ET), and NAHB housing market index (10:00 am ET).

Pre-Market Earnings: Walmart ($WMT), Alibaba ($BABA), JD ($JD), Deere ($DE), Grab Holdings ($GRAB), Tapestry ($TPR), and Golar LNG ($GLNG). 🛏️

After-Hour Earnings: Applied Materials ($AMAT), H&R Block ($HRB), Sigma Lithium ($SGML), Coherent ($COHR), and Phoenix Motor ($PEV). 🎧

P.S. You can listen to all of these earnings calls and more straight from the Stocktwits app or website. You’ll find them on the calendar page and individual symbol pages once they’re set to begin! We’ll see you there. 👍

🤩 Chart Art: The best trade ideas and analysis from the Stocktwits community

😡 Waymo driverless cars have gotten inexplicably chatty, honking at one another all night

🚫 FTC bans fake online reviews, inflated social media influence; rule takes effect in October

🚨 A finance CEO's $300 million Ponzi scheme funded a 'lavish' lifestyle, authorities say

😧 Meta killed Crowdtangle, an ‘invaluable’ research tool, because what it showed was inconvenient

⏪ DraftKings reverses plans for a tax on customers as FanDuel parent Flutter wows Wall Street

💰 World’s largest sovereign wealth fund posts $138 billion in first-half profit as AI demand boosts tech

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