Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Looking for a rebound
The Nasdaq is humming along, and it's on track to post its third consecutive winning week. The Dow and the S&P 500, however, are heading into Friday headed for their second straight week of losses. Investors are chewing over potential signs of an economic slowdown while also contending with the aftermath of the major part of earnings season. (Disney, which posted a middling report Wednesday, was a drag on the Dow Thursday – more below.) Then there's renewed worry about regional banks, which fell after PacWest reported a sharp decline in deposits. Follow live market updates.
2. A new leader for Twitter
Elon Musk announced Thursday that he would be stepping down as Twitter's chief executive in about six weeks. He didn't name his successor publicly, but referred to this person as "she." CNBC's Julia Boorstin later confirmed that Twitter was in talks with NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino for the CEO role. While Musk would inevitably retain much control over Twitter – he owns it, and he plans to keep overseeing its product development – Yaccarino, a seasoned operator in the advertising world, could help Twitter beef up its flagging ad business. Tesla investors, man of whom are eager to have Musk spend more time on his EV company. seemed to like the news, sending shares up 2% Thursday and another 1.5% in extended trading.
3. Disney drops
Disney had been riding pretty high in the market since Bob Iger returned as CEO in November. He reorganized the entertainment giant and rolled out a cost-cutting plan that includes 7,000 layoffs, while focusing the company's content creators on core brands. Then came Wednesday's after hours earnings report, which, in turn, pushed Disney's stock down nearly 9% Thursday. Now the shares are up only 6% for the year. While the company's streaming losses improved, it still showed it had a long way to go before making a profit in that segment. Also, by folding Hulu into the Disney+ app, Iger seemed to acknowledge that Disney might need a bit more than its core, family-friendly content to make its streaming venture work.
4. Debt ceiling meeting delayed
President Joe Biden was set to meet Friday with the big four congressional leaders as they try to hammer out an agreement that would lift the debt ceiling and prevent the United States from defaulting on its debt. The sitdown is delayed until early next week, however, as White House and congressional staff work behind the scenes. The Treasury Department has said the U.S. could run out of cash to pay its bills as soon as June 1 unless Congress raises the debt limit. House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have insisted on pairing spending cuts with a debt ceiling increase. Biden has said he will only negotiate spending reductions as part of a separate bill. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, meanwhile, is slated to meet with top banking leaders about the matter early next week, as well.
5. The end of the Covid health emergency
The United States ended its public health emergency for Covid on Thursday after three years, more than a million deaths, and a bevy of sweeping, still-developing societal and economic changes. Deaths and hospitalizations from the disease have fallen dramatically, with vaccines and antiviral medicines on the market. While some worry the end of the emergency will leave the U.S. vulnerable to future Covid surges, others say we're past the worst of it. Meanwhile, uninsured Americans can still get Covid shots for free, at least for now, CNBC's Annika Kim Constantino reports.
– CNBC's Sarah Min, Jonathan Vanian, Julia Boorstin, Noah Sheidlower, Emma Kinery, Spencer Kimball and Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this report.
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