5 things to know before the stock market opens on Thursday

Here are the most important information investors need to start their trading day:

Markets sold off on Wednesday as investors searched for something solid to hold onto during this uncertain time. The midterm elections may not have produced a “red wave” from the GOP, but Congressional scrutiny is still up in the air. Companies continue to release their earnings reports – major retailers are up next week – and there are some major economic data points to digest as the Federal Reserve continues its fight against inflation. The consumer price index rose less than expected in October, although it is still hot. “As everyone knows, markets really don’t like uncertainty,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at the Independent Advisor Alliance, according to CNBC’s Markets Live Blog.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire needed a savior. For a day, it looked like Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the world’s largest crypto firm, Binance, would be his white knight. Binance said it would support Bankman-Fried’s cash-strapped FTX. But then… whatever, Binance said. “At first, our hope was to be able to help FTX customers provide liquidity,” Binance said on Wednesday. “But the problems are beyond our control or our ability to help.” Now FTX, which was valued at $32 billion earlier this year, is on the verge of disappearing – a stunning fall from grace for Bankman-Fried and his company, which itself had become known as a corporate savior of faulty cryptography.

Job cuts at big banks are accelerating as deals remain stalled amid uncertainty-ridden market conditions and rising interest rates, according to CNBC’s Hugh Son. Citigroup and Barclays made dozens of layoffs this week, following hundreds of job cuts at Goldman Sachs in September and ongoing layoffs at struggling Credit Suisse. JPMorgan Chase is considering possible job cuts at the end of the year as it seeks to cut costs, and Morgan Stanley also examines possible layoffs. “Most banks are expecting revenue to decline next year,” a person involved in providing data and analytics to the banking industry told CNBC.

Russian forces withdraw from Kherson in southern Ukraine. This is Vladimir Putin’s latest embarrassing defeat and invasion of Russia’s former Soviet neighbor. Kherson was one of the areas claimed by Russia in its illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. Knowing the region’s importance to Russia, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky greeted the news of the withdrawal with caution and wondered if Putin’s armies were setting a trap. He also said, without giving further details, that his forces were planning further operations to force Russian troops out of Ukrainian soil. Read live war updates here.

$1.5 billion? In this economy? Sure why not. Much of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s art collection, which includes pieces spanning 500 years, was auctioned Wednesday night for nearly $1.51 billion. This easily exceeds the $922 million paid for the Harry and Linda Macklowe collection, the former record holder. Allen’s collection includes works by legendary artists Vincent van Gogh, Edward Steichen and Gustav Klimt. “Les Poseuses, Ensemble” by Georges Seurat sold for $149.2 million, the highest score of the evening. A total of five works cost over $100 million. More items from Allen’s collection are expected to arrive Thursday. Proceeds will go to charity.

– CNBC’s Alex Harring, MacKenzie Sigalos, Kate Rooney, Hugh Son, Holly Ellyatt and Robert Frank contributed to this report.

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