The U.S. stock market fell on Wednesday as the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections was still unclear, although it looked like Republicans would take control of the House of Representatives.

A divided government means more gridlock in Washington as lawmakers are forced to compromise or block each other’s programs. That increases the likelihood that no major initiatives will be passed during the next term.

Investors are also awaiting Thursday’s release of the U.S. inflation report for October, believing that the rate of inflation will decline from the previous 12-month period. That could persuade the Federal Reserve to ease off on a decisive interest rate hike to tame inflation.

Analysts are divided on whether the Fed will raise the rate by another 0.75 percentage point at its December meeting, or whether it will only raise it by half a point.

New data on U.S. jobless claims for last week will also be released on Thursday and may provide more clarity on the state of the labor market. The October jobs data came in better than expected, but large technology companies like Meta (NASDAQ:META) Platforms* continue to cut jobs, and holiday retail hiring is estimated to be lower than last year.

Here are 3 events that could impact the market on Thursday:

1. U.S. Consumer Prices

At 08:30 Eastern Time (13:30 GMT), CPI data for October is expected to be released. Analysts expect a year-over-year gain of 8%, down from 8.2% in the previous 12-month reading. CPI is expected to rise 0.6% from September, up from 0.4% in the previous month.

On an underlying basis, which excludes energy and food prices, CPI is expected to rise 6.5% for the year, up from 6.6% in the previous release, and 0.5% for the month, up from 0.6% a month earlier.

2. Tapestry’s Revenue

Tapestry Inc (NYSE:TPR), the parent company of fashion brands Coach and Kate Spade, is expected to report earnings per share of 75 cents on revenue of $1.5 billion.

3. Ralph Lauren earnings

Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE:RL), which owns the luxury fashion brand, is expected to report earnings of $2.07 per share on revenue of $1.56 billion.

* Meta recognized as a terrorist company in Russia