Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Record run
The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Friday. Now Wall Street will find out if the good times can last. The Federal Reserve has so far managed to curb inflation without tipping the U.S. economy into a recession, fueling stocks as investors bet the central bank will start to cut interest rates later this year. But equities may need a delicate mix of conditions to notch fresh records: slower price increases, combined with a solid — but not roaring — economy. The Fed will get two key data points about the economy this week, as the preliminary read on fourth-quarter GDP is due Thursday, and the personal consumption expenditures price index is set for Friday. Follow live market updates here.
2. Planes, streams and electric automobiles
Corporate earnings reports this week will also shape the stock market and give a glimpse into the health of multiple key sectors. United kicks off a packed week for airlines on Monday. Investors will have a close eye on Alaska Airlines, as they look for updates on the fallout from a panel blowing out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane during one of the carrier’s flights earlier this month. Tesla will release results this week, as will two key media companies: Netflix and Comcast. Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Intel are among the consumer goods, health care and technology companies set to report. Here are the key results to watch:
- Monday: United Airlines (after the bell)
- Tuesday: Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Lockheed Martin (before the bell); Netflix (after the bell)
- Wednesday: IBM, Tesla (after the bell)
- Thursday: Comcast, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines (before the bell); Intel (after the bell)
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
3. DeSantis dips
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, ending a bid once seen as a threat to challenge former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. His departure from the GOP contest leaves the frontrunner Trump facing only one major rival, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, in Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary. Trump, who faces charges in four separate criminal cases, leads Haley by a comfortable margin in New Hampshire polling after he easily won the Iowa caucus. DeSantis ran a campaign marked by notable public relations blunders, like a glitch-filled launch on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, and a battle against Walt Disney, during which he wielded state power against the media titan.
4. Macy’s rejects buyout
Macy’s rejected a $5.8 billion acquisition proposal from Arkhouse Management and its partner Brigade Capital Management. The department store chain’s CEO Jeff Gennette said the offer to buy the remainder of Macy’s stock the firms do not already own for $21 per share “fails to provide compelling value” to shareholders. He added that Macy’s is “open to opportunities that are in the best interests” of it and its shareholders. The offer comes as the department store tries to boost slowing sales and compete with online retailers and discounters. Macy’s last week said it would cut 3.5% of its workforce, or about 2,350 jobs, and close five stores.
5. Sports Illustrated’s murky future
Sports Illustrated’s future is in doubt. The iconic magazine’s publisher, The Arena Group, plans to lay off most of the publication’s staff. The cuts came as Arena failed to pay the magazine’s licensing fees to its owner, Authentic Brands Group. Authentic said it hopes to find a way to keep publishing Sports Illustrated. The layoffs come amid a string of cuts at publications including the Los Angeles Times and Pitchfork. They also capture the yearslong decline of the magazine industry: Sports Illustrated, once an institution in sports journalism, now has a small fraction of the staff it once did, and publishes monthly instead of weekly.
– CNBC’s Brian Evans, Jeff Cox, Rebecca Picciotto and Melissa Repko contributed to this report.
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