5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

• Stocks rose again on hopes for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, adding to a mostly steady run since a selloff earlier this month.
• Ford scaled back its electric vehicle plans.
• Paramount extended the window during which it can listen to competing offers to its merger agreement with Skydance.

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

After a selloff prompted by fears about the economy earlier this month, markets have largely been steady. The three major U.S. averages rose again Wednesday as investors anticipated an interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve's September meeting. All eyes will to turn Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments Friday at the central bank's Jackson Hole symposium for clues about how large the rate reduction could be. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their ninth positive session in 10 on Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average had its sixth winning day in seven. Follow live market updates here.

A September interest rate cut looks all but certain. Minutes from the July meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers signaled the central bank will "likely" ease monetary policy if economic data continued about as expected. Many Fed officials appeared confident inflation was easing toward the bank's 2% target, and others noted the labor market appeared to be weakening. The release of the Fed meeting minutes came hours after the Labor Department said the U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs than initially reported in the 12 months through March. While the numbers still paint a picture of solid employment growth, they added fuel to expectations that the Fed will lower borrowing rates soon.

All along the U.S. auto industry, companies are