Consumer sentiment, industrial production, UAW strike deadline: 3 things to watch

Investing.com -- Stocks rallied as Arm Holdings notched gains on its first day of trading in New York, perhaps the sign companies needed to consider their own listing after a lackluster time for new issues.

Arm gained 21% on its IPO price of $51. That bodes will for other deals already in the pipeline, including the debut of delivery platform Instacart as early as this month.

Economic data was also mostly inline with expectations, though headline inflation numbers and retail sales were influenced by rising fuel prices in August. Still, the retail sales report showed a resilient consumer heading into the holiday shopping season.

Investors will now turn their attention to next week's meeting by Federal Reserve policy makers, who are expected to hold interest rates steady after raising them at 11 of their past 12 meetings. Fed officials want to see how well their actions to date have done to lower inflation back to their 2% target. But increasingly economists believe the Fed can achieve its goals without severe disruptions to the labor market, the so-called soft landing rather than a recession.

What happens next is something markets are debating. While most futures traders see a pause next week, there is disagreement over whether the Fed will raise rates one more time before the end of the year, perhaps at its November meeting. Investors will be listening closely to what Chair Jerome Powell says at his press conference next week for any hints.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Consumer sentiment

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment reading is due out at 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT). Analysts expect a reading of 69.1.

2. Industrial production

The industrial production reading for August is due out at 9:15 ET. Analysts expect a rise of 0.1% from the prior period.

3. UAW strike

The deadline is fast approaching for the United Auto Workers to strike against one or all of the Big Three Detroit auto makers. Negotiators have until one minute before midnight tonight to reach a deal.