Stock market news: Opening bell, September 26, 2018

People
look at a model of LP6 property development by Nan Fung Group at
a sales centre in Hong Kong.
Reuters/Bobby Yip

Here is what you need to know. 

The Fed is expected to hike rates on
Wednesday. Data compiled by Bloomberg shows a
99% chance the Fed will hike rates at the conclusion of its
two-day meeting on Wednesday.

Consumer confidence spikes to its best level since
2000. The Conference Board said Tuesday that
its consumer confidence index jumped to 138.4 in September — from
133.4 in August — hitting its best level in 18 years.  

A quirk that’s distorted the stock market for 20 years is finally
gone. Companies with high-quality credit have
traded at a discount to their low-quality peers for the last two
decades, but Bank of America says things are changing and offers
some recommendations as to how traders can take advantage. 

FTSE Russell is expected to include Chinese stocks when it
rebalances on Wednesday. The move, which has
been years in the making, could push billions of dollars
into the Chinese market, helping to stabilize it in the midst of
its trade war with Washington.

Deutsche Bank held internal talks about a merger with Swiss giant
UBS. Senior Deutsche Bank staff held talks
about a tie-up with the Swiss bank UBS, and a merger with
Commerzbank, Germany’s second-biggest bank and a key
domestic rival, the German newspaper Handelsblatt reports. 

Arby’s parent company is buying Sonic in a $2.3 billion
deal. Inspire Brands, the parent company of
Arby’s, will pay $1.57 billion in cash, or $43.50 per share, for
the burger chain Sonic. The deal amounts to $2.3 billion when
including debt. 

Nike’s
gross margins miss. The sneaker giant beat on
both the top and bottom lines, but shares slumped more than 4%
after Tuesday’s closing bell as gross margins and sales in both
China and Latin America missed estimates. 

Stock markets
around the world are higher. Hong Kong’s Hang
Seng (+1.15%) led the gains in Asia and France’s CAC (+0.22%) is
out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.21% near
2,922.

Earnings reporting is light. Bed Bath &
Beyond reports after markets close.

US
economic data trickles out. New home sales will
be released at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis
point at 3.09%.