Stock market news: Opening bell, September 27, 2018

Saudi
Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman waves as he meets with
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
Reuters/Bandar
Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court

Here is what you need to know. 

The Christine Blasey Ford-Brett Kavanaugh hearings are
coming. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett
Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a woman who has accused him
of sexually assaulting her when the two were in high school, are
both scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee
on Capitol Hill on Thursday, beginning at 10 a.m. ET.

The Fed hikes rates. At the conclusion of
Wednesday’s policy meeting, the US central bank raised its key
interest rate to a range of 2%-2.25% and removed language
from its statement that referenced “accommodative” monetary
policy.

The IMF is scaling up its record-setting bailout for
Argentina. The IMF on Wednesday said it will
raise the amount of Argentina’s record-setting bailout to $57
billion — up from $50 billion — in an effort “aimed at bolstering
confidence and stabilizing the economy.”

Oil jumps as Iran sanctions continue to drive supply
fears. West Texas Intermediate crude oil trades
up 1.3% at $72.50 per barrel as markets prepare for the US to
place fresh sanctions on Iran that are expected to cause supply
constraints. 

SurveyMonkey soars in its trading debut. The
survey provider priced its initial public offering at $12 a
share, and ended its first day of trading at $17.24, up
43.7%. 

Papa John is reportedly trying to buy back Papa
John’s. Papa John’s spiked 8.5% Wednesday
following a CNBC report stating that founder and ex-CEO John
Schnatter has been in talks with private equity firms to
repurchase the pizza chain. 

Softbank plans to create a new $100 billion fund every 2 or 3
years. Softbank Chief Executive Masayoshi
Son told Bloomberg Businessweek that he plans to invest $50
billion annually. 

Stock markets
around the world are mostly lower. Japan’s
Nikkei (-0.99%) led the losses in Asia and Germany’s DAX (-0.52%)
trails in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed
near 2,908.

Earnings reports trickle out. Carnival reports
ahead of the opening bell.

US economic data is heavy. The third estimate of
second-quarter GDP, durable goods orders, and initial claims
will all be released at 8:30 a.m. ET before pending home sales
are announced at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis
point at 3.04%.