Home Depot earnings, ‘quiet time’ in the job market, Panera’s new strategy and more in Morning Squawk

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

The stock market dropped yesterday, with technology stocks once again leading the charge lower. Wall Street appears to be taking risk off the table ahead of earnings reports from well-known companies and economic data coming later this week.

Here’s the full rundown:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each recorded their third straight day of losses. Monday’s declines also dragged the S&P 500 into the red for the fourth quarter.
• Nvidia weighed down the broader market with a decline of nearly 2% after Peter Thiel’s fund reported that it exited the chip stock. Shares fell more than 1% in premarket trading this morning as investors await its earnings report tomorrow.
• Tech hardware stocks Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise sank more than 8% and 7%, respectively, yesterday after Morgan Stanley said it was no longer bullish on the names.
• Apple slid close to 2% after Berkshire Hathaway revealed it continued to trim its stake in the stock in the third quarter. But Alphabet bucked the market’s slide, climbing 3% following Berkshire’s disclosure of a roughly $4.3 billion position in the Google parent.
• Bitcoin briefly dropped below $90,000 this morning, hitting its lowest level since late April.
• Stock futures fell this morning, indicating investors could be in for another difficult day. Follow live markets updates here.

Home Depot missed analysts’ expectations for third-quarter earnings — again. It’s the third straight quarter that the home improvement retailer has reported weaker-than-expected earnings results, though the company did beat revenue expectations for the quarter.

Home Depot also cut its full-year profit outlook, leading shares to fall more than 2% in premarket trading. CFO Richard McPhail told CNBC that the company had expected an uptick in home improvement activity and demand for products like roofing materials and generators that typically see interest around storms. Instead, he said the business saw “ongoing consumer uncertainty” and “continued pressure in housing.”

Home Depot is the first in a series of retail earnings reports due this week. Lowe’s and Target are scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Walmart and Gap on Thursday.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC yesterday that artificial intelligence could be increasing worker productivity so much that companies might cool hiring. That could lead to what he called some “quiet time in the labor market,” Hassett said, as firms may not need to hire recent college graduates.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said yesterday that he’s focusing on the job market “after months of weakening.” Waller said he was in favor of another rate cut at the central bank’s next policy meeting in December.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said last night that he is stepping back from public commitments after his emails with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

In a statement obtained by CNBC, Summers — who is also a former president of Harvard University and currently on OpenAI’s board — said he was “deeply ashamed” of his actions. “I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein,” he said in the statement. Summers said he would continue to fulfill his teaching obligations.

The House of Representatives will reportedly vote today on a measure that would release investigative files about Epstein. President Donald Trump on Sunday said Republicans in Congress should vote to release the files, writing on social media “we have nothing to hide.”

After seeing its traffic fall for years, Panera Bread is no longer the top fast-casual chain in the U.S. But new CEO Paul Carbone has a plan to change that.

Under its new strategy, dubbed “Panera RISE,” the company is looking to improve service, update its menu items and build new restaurants. Panera is also planning to invest in labor and spruce up its dining rooms.

When asked about Panera’s IPO plans, Carbone told CNBC that the chain is currently focusing on improving traffic and implementing the strategy.

Zillow has become synonymous with real estate. CNBC’s Carlos Waters explains how the platform brought a paradigm shift to the industry.

— CNBC’s John Melloy, Jeff Cox, Kevin Breuninger, Jaures Yip, Yun Li, Melissa Repko, Dylan Butts, Dan Mangan, Ashley Capoot, Amelia Lucas and Carlos Waters contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.