Five things to know before the stock market opens on Thursday, September 19th

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

Stocks were choppy on Wednesday as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Market participants initially welcomed the big 50 basis point cut, but concerns emerged that the Fed was trying to pre-empt a potential weakening economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 103.08 points, or 0.25%, after rising 375.79 points immediately after the Fed’s decision. The S&P 500 was down 0.29% after hitting a record high in the previous trading day, and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.31%. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell tried to ease concerns that the central bank is worried about the economy, but stocks still fell. Follow our live market updates.

Federal Reserve Rate Cuts The Fed will cut its key overnight borrowing rate by half a percentage point (50 basis points), the first time since 2008 at the height of the global financial crisis. The first rate cut since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic will bring the federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%. The decision was not unanimous, with Fed Governor Michelle Bowman favoring a quarter-point cut rather than a more aggressive half-point cut. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in Wednesday’s decision that the Fed is “seeking to achieve a condition that restores price stability without the painful increases in unemployment that have sometimes occurred with this inflation.” Fed members expect to cut rates by another half-point by the end of the year.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a memo on Wednesday that the company will begin laying off tens of thousands of executives, managers and other employees in the U.S. as the company works hard to cut costs in response to the ongoing strike of more than 30,000 machinists. Affected employees will receive one week of furlough for every four weeks that the strike continues, according to the memo. Meanwhile, Ortberg and other executives on his team will take “commensurate” pay cuts during the strike, he said. Negotiations between the company and the union continued this week with a mediator, but the union expressed dissatisfaction after Tuesday’s talks.

Amazon The company is raising wages for hourly workers at its warehouses. The company said on Wednesday it will raise the average starting pay for its U.S. frontline workers to more than $22 a week, up from about $20.50 a week previously. It also said those workers will get Prime membership included in their benefits starting early next year. The move comes ahead of the busy holiday season, when retailers typically experience a surge in online shopping.

The WNBA is on a roll. The league set new viewership and attendance records this season and new media rights deals have been signed. Disney, NBCUniversal and Amazon That’s more than triple the amount of the previous deal. The league also announced Wednesday that it will open a new franchise in Portland, the third team in the league’s current expansion round. But players’ salaries remain relatively modest. Caitlin Clark, the rookie superstar who has spurred the league’s popularity, will make about $76,000 this year. Many of the league’s most established veterans make around $200,000 a year. Here’s a closer look at why the WNBA is growing so quickly and how the league’s economics could change in the coming years.

—CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Jeff Cox, Leslie Josephs, Annie Palmer and Tara Hadavi contributed to this report.

—Correction: Fed Governor Michelle Bowman supported a quarter-point cut. An earlier version of this article misstated her vote.