Five things to know before the stock market opens on Friday

Here are five important things investors should know before starting the trading day.

Stocks fell further on Thursday, S&P 500 It was the third consecutive day of declines this month. The broader index fell 0.3% to close at 5,503.41. Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell, dropping 0.54% to close at 40,755.75. Unlike these two major averages, Nasdaq Composite Index The session ended higher. The tech-heavy index rose 0.25% to close at 17,127.66, having risen 1.2% in early trade. “We are in the middle of yet another mini growth scare,” said Arun Sai, senior multi-asset strategist at Pictet Asset Management. Follow live market updates.

Wall Street is keeping a close eye on new jobs data from the Labor Department. The consensus is that nonfarm payrolls rose by 161,000 in August, according to Dow Jones, and the unemployment rate will edge down to 4.2%. The report comes after private payrolls rose by 99,000 last month, marking the smallest rate of job growth in more than three and a half years. “The labor market is cooling more rapidly than initially thought, which is now contributing to the decline in employment,” it said. [Friday’s report] “The question is, how will the Fed respond? How will they adjust interest rates? That’s why we’re having this conversation.”

Red Lobster has escaped bankruptcy. A bankruptcy court on Thursday approved the restaurants’ restructuring plan, which will see the seafood chain soon emerge from Chapter 11 protection, which it filed for in May. Under the company’s plan, Red Lobster will be acquired by RL Investor Holdings by the end of September, after which PF Chang’s former CEO Damola Adamolekun will lead the restaurants. Red Lobster’s current CEO Jonathan Tibus will leave the company. “Today is a great day for Red Lobster,” Adamolekun said in a statement. “Together with our new backers, we have a comprehensive, long-term investment plan, including the infusion of more than $60 million in new capital, that will help us preserve the best parts of our iconic brand while revitalizing it.”

Salesforce is acquiring startup Own. The cloud software company said Thursday it is buying the data protection and data management company formerly known as OwnBackup for $1.9 billion in cash. Salesforce hopes to close the acquisition in the fourth quarter. The proposed acquisition comes less than two years after co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff said the company was dissolving its board committee on mergers and acquisitions. The deal, which signals a possible return to larger acquisitions for the company, also comes after Salesforce announced plans to buy other startups PredictSpring and Tenix.

A bigger than expected cut in interest rates from the Federal Reserve this month could spell disaster for markets, according to George Lagarias, chief economist at Forbis Mothers. The bank’s chief economist supports a quarter-point cut. “A 50% cut just doesn’t feel as urgent.” [basis point] “We need to cut rates,” he told CNBC. “So it would be very dangerous to cut rates without a specific reason. There’s no reason to panic unless there’s a disruptive event in the market.” But other economists, such as JPMorgan’s Michael Feroli, have a different view. Feroli, his chief U.S. economist, believes the Fed should cut rates by 50 basis points this month. “I think there’s a very good case to get back to neutral as soon as possible,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” The Fed is expected to start cutting rates at its next FOMC meeting on Sept. 17-18.

— CNBC’s Samantha Sabin, Jesse Pound, Jeff Cox, Amelia Lucas, Jordan Novett and Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

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