Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Looking ahead
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both took a step back from their recent rallies on Wednesday, falling 0.19% and 0.54%, respectively. Those losses followed a decline in the tech sector. Nvidia, which has helped lead markets higher recently, fell 1.1% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, ticked up 0.1%. Looking ahead, investors will be watching for a measure of wholesale inflation Thursday morning as February's producer price index is due before the bell. Follow live market updates here.
2. Tick tock
The House passed a measure Wednesday calling for TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, to divest the social media video site within six months or effectively face a ban in the U.S. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the legislation, passing 352-65. The bill — which calls TikTok a national security because it is controlled by a foreign adversary — now heads to the Senate, where its fate is less certain. President Joe Biden, who created an official TikTok account in February as part of his election campaign, has said he would pass the bill if it arrived on his desk.
3. Under new management
Under Armour announced Wednesday that founder Kevin Plank will return to his role as CEO. Current Chief Executive Stephanie Linnartz is stepping down after just over a year in the role. She previously spent almost three decades at Marriott International, most recently as its president, before taking the Under Armour role. Plank, who founded the sportswear brand in 1996, stepped down as CEO four years ago but remained as chairman of the company. Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic advisor at Allianz, Pimco's parent company, will take Plank's role as non-executive board chair.
4. Palantir CEO
Palantir CEO Alex Karp told CNBC's Sara Eisen that his pro-Israel views have led some employees to leave the company, and he expects to lose more. "If you have a position that does not cost you ever to lose an employee, it's not a position," Karp said in an interview on CNBC's "Money Movers." The company is known for its government contract work in defense and intelligence and has provided technology to support the Ukrainian and Israeli militaries in their respective wars. He also skewered short sellers, or investors who bet a company's stock price will decline, in the interview. "Almost nothing makes a human happier than taking the lines of cocaine away from these short sellers, who like, are going short on a truly great American company," Karp said.
5. ReEValuating
Consumer demand for electric vehicles isn't showing up the way executives had expected. As a result, automakers from Ford Motor and General Motors to Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin are scaling back or delaying their EV plans. Sales of the vehicles are still predicted to increase in the years to come. But even Tesla, which is the U.S. leader in electric vehicles, is bracing for what "may be a notably lower" rate of growth, CEO Elon Musk said. In the meantime, some automakers are turning away from fully electric lineups to a more mixed offering of vehicles, including gas-powered options and hybrids that can be more cost effective for consumers but still help companies meet emissions guidelines.
— CNBC's Brian Evans, Lisa Kailai Han, Jonathan Vanian, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Sara Salinas, Alex Koller, Todd Haselton, Sara Eisen and Michael Wayland contributed to this report.
— Follow broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.
