5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday, September 30

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

Stocks are headed for their final trading session of the month on Monday. So far for September, the S&P 500 is up nearly 1.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 1.8% and the Nasdaq Composite has advanced almost 2.3%. September is historically the weakest month for the markets, but stocks rallied on the Federal Reserve’s half-point cut. Monday’s session also closes out the third quarter. Follow live market updates.

Port workers along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast are set to strike after midnight Monday. No labor negotiations are underway between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the US Maritime Alliance — and none are planned before the strike deadline. That’s left logistics executives to move out as much trade as possible before a shutdown. Even still, the work stoppage could do major damage to the U.S. economy. “A strike of even a week will block the flow of hundreds of thousands of containers into the U.S.,” said Michael Kanko, CEO of ImportGenius. “These ports are also a major gateway into the U.S. for refrigerated produce. Time isn’t on the side of importers.”  

Vice President Kamala Harris leads with Latino voters, but the Democratic margin with the cohort has narrowed. An NBC/CNBC/Telemundo survey found Harris leading former President Donald Trump 54% to 40%, compared with a 36-point lead for President Joe Biden in the run-up to the 2020 election. It’s the narrowest margin among surveyed Latino voters for a Democratic candidate since at least 2012. Much of the swing is attributed to economic concerns, with Trump edging out Harris with Latino voters on issues of inflation and the broader economy. Harris has made price gouging a particular tentpole of her presidential campaign, and while cracking down on higher prices is popular among voters, the path to doing so remains fairly unclear.

JPMorgan Chase is prepared to take on U.S. regulators. The bank disclosed last month that in response to allegations around shortcomings in fighting fraud among peer-to-peer payments, “The firm is evaluating next steps, including litigation.” It’s a stark warning from the largest U.S. bank and one that would have been practically unheard of in an earlier era of American bank regulation, according to policy experts. U.S. financial institutions had previously toed a conservative line with government overseers, they say, but recent shifts in sentiment and harsh policy proposals have put pressure on the industry and created an environment where the likes of JPMorgan and CEO Jamie Dimon may be more willing to go on the offensive.

Hurricane Helene ravaged the southeastern U.S. in recent days, leaving behind flooding and destruction in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. At least 90 people were killed and millions were left without power as heavy rains took out electrical lines and roadways. Parts of western North Carolina were isolated, with access points completely underwater. President Joe Biden said in a statement Saturday that the White House was committed to deploying all necessary resources to assist in the recovery.

– CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Lori Ann LaRocco, Steve Liesman, Amelia Lucas, Melissa Repko, Hugh Son, Rebecca Picciotto and Reuters contributed to this report.