Ray: Good morning, this is Biscuits and Tickers for Friday, October sixteenth. I'm Ray.

Nora: And I'm Nora. Futures are mixed this morning after a choppy, volatile week. Blue chips point higher, tech is flat to slightly lower, regional bank earnings are rolling in, and Tesla is jumping on a new Roadster. Here's where things stand.

Ray: Thursday ended with a broad rebound. The S and P 500 rose a third of a percent to 7,744. The Dow gained about 1.1 percent to 52,178. The Nasdaq Composite edged up less than a tenth of a percent, and the small cap Russell 2000 led with a gain of almost 1.4 percent. Reuters reports money rotated into defensive sectors like health care after this week's AI stock selloff.

Nora: This morning, Reuters says Dow futures are up about 0.4 percent and S and P futures are up about 0.2 percent, while Nasdaq 100 futures are slightly lower. Even with Thursday's gains, the S and P 500 and the Nasdaq are on track for weekly losses, and the Dow for a weekly gain.

Ray: The 10-year Treasury yield is near 5.1 percent, down from this week's peak of about 5.3 percent. The dollar slipped after comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. Oil is lower. W T I is near 97 dollars and Brent is around 106 dollars, after the International Energy Agency agreed to release more than 20 million barrels of diesel. Gold is near 4,200 dollars an ounce, bitcoin is near 82,800 dollars, and the VIX volatility index is around 16.

Nora: Overseas, Asia bounced back. Japan's Nikkei rose about 1.4 percent after falling more than 4 percent a day earlier, and Korea's Kospi rose about 2 percent. Hong Kong and Shanghai were slightly higher. In Europe, Germany's DAX is up about 1 percent and London's FTSE is little changed.

Ray: On today's calendar, September import and export prices are due at 8:30 Eastern. Industrial production follows at 9:15. Invezz notes it matters less than this week's CPI and PPI, but it gets more attention after the big swings in bond yields. The Baker Hughes rig count comes out at 1 p m.

Nora: On earnings, Truist, Regions, Citizens Financial, M and T Bank and Travelers all reported before the bell. No major reports are scheduled after the close. For context on the week, September producer prices rose 1.3 percent on the month and 6.3 percent from a year earlier. TradingKey says that was the biggest monthly jump since March 2022. Retail sales rose 0.8 percent.

Ray: Our first story is the second wave of bank earnings, and the early reaction is soft. Truist, ticker T F C, is down about 2.5 percent before the open. Benzinga calls the quarter mixed, with earnings of 1 dollar 16 cents a share and revenue of about 5.3 billion dollars, a little below estimates. Investrade notes the quarter included about 1.45 billion dollars in securities losses.

Ray: Regions Financial, ticker R F, is down about 2 percent. Citizens Financial, ticker C F G, beat on earnings but fell short on revenue. It also raised its quarterly dividend 13 percent and expanded its buyback to 1.95 billion dollars.

Nora: The insurer Travelers, ticker T R V, is indicated down about 5 percent. That's despite core income of 9 dollars 18 cents a share, up 13 percent from a year ago, and a combined ratio of 86.8 percent. The company's release also shows flat net written premiums, an underlying combined ratio that rose slightly, and a 295 million dollar addition to asbestos reserves. Analysts say investors are focused on net interest income, deposit costs and credit quality.

Ray: Next, the Fed. A follow-up to Thursday's inflation coverage: Reuters reports Chair Warsh said the economy is resilient and is benefiting from an AI-driven investment boom, but that the spending surge is adding to inflation. Invezz reports he did not signal a rate increase in October and said he would not prejudge the October 27 and 28 meeting.

Nora: Markets heard that as a hold. Odds of an October hike are now about 15 percent, based on CME pricing cited by Invezz. That helped Treasuries rally on Thursday even though both CPI and PPI came in hot. The Fed raised rates in September, so the question now is whether it pauses or keeps going.

Ray: Our third story is the AI trade and private markets. Reuters reports that some existing and potential investors in Anthropic have discussed valuing the company at about 1.5 trillion dollars for a possible IPO. That's below earlier expectations of around 2 trillion dollars. TradingKey reports Anthropic's third quarter revenue grew 45 percent from the prior quarter to 16.8 billion dollars, and that the company reached adjusted profitability.

Nora: The pricing debate comes as investors question debt-funded AI build-outs. CoreWeave, ticker C R W V, is down about 5 percent before the open after Thursday's rebound. Invezz says some of its long-term bonds yield above 15 percent. A BNP Paribas analyst says sustainable cash generation is the key test for the group.

Ray: Our final story: Tesla, ticker T S L A, is up about 3 to 5 percent before the open after unveiling a redesigned Roadster developed with SpaceX. Investing dot com says the car made a controlled air-powered jump at SpaceX's Texas test site. Elon Musk says production starts in 2028. Invezz notes analysts expect little near-term financial impact.

Nora: Other movers. Varonis Systems, ticker V R N S, is up almost 3 percent. Thoma Bravo's Proofpoint agreed to buy it for 6.3 billion dollars in cash, or 49 dollars 75 cents a share. Alcoa, ticker A A, is up about 3 percent after adjusted earnings of 1 dollar 82 cents beat estimates, though revenue came in a little light.

Ray: On the downside, Strategy, ticker M S T R, is down about 3 percent after MSCI announced rules that could remove it from its indexes at the November review. Netflix, ticker N F L X, is down about 3 percent after naming former Disney TV chief Peter Rice as chief content officer, replacing Bela Bajaria. Site Centers is up about 18 percent on a 3 dollar special dividend.

Nora: Sector by sector, memory chips are still under pressure. Micron is down about 2 percent and AMD about 1.4 percent, while Nvidia is roughly flat. The iShares semiconductor ETF has fallen eight sessions in a row, down about 12.6 percent since October 2. Small caps, industrials and defensives have been leading as tech struggles.

Ray: What to watch today. Import prices at 8:30 and industrial production at 9:15. How the market takes regional bank results, especially deposit costs and securities losses. Whether chip stocks can end their eight-day losing streak. The 10-year yield around 5.1 percent. And Friday positioning ahead of the October 27 and 28 Fed meeting.

Nora: That's Biscuits and Tickers for Friday, October sixteenth. This is market news and information, not investment advice. I'm Nora.

Ray: And I'm Ray. Have a good weekend.