5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

History. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 40,000 for the first time ever on Friday after hitting that intraday mark on Thursday, wrapping up a strong week. The Dow rose 1.2% for the week in its fifth straight weekly gain. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.5% and 2.1% week to date, respectively, marking their longest winning streak since February. And now all three indexes are in positive territory for the second quarter. Year-to-date the the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are each up over 11% in 2024, while the Dow has risen than 6% so far. Follow live market updates.

All eyes will be on Nvidia earnings this week. The $2.3 trillion company is the third largest S&P 500 stock by market cap, which means the chipmaker is big enough that a significant reaction could be a market-moving event. There are a few other stragglers on the earnings front, but none as big as the phenomenon at the forefront of the artificial intelligence craze. Here are the earnings to watch this week:

We’re in uncharted territory for debt and deficits. The federal debt has hit $34.5 trillion and is generating elevated levels of concerns on Wall Street and in Washington. It’s grown nearly 50% since the early days of the Covid pandemic and is now more than 120% of the total federal economy. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that debt held by the public compared to GDP will rise to “an amount greater than at any point in the nation’s history.” Heavyweights including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio have all spoken recently about their worries. “Everyone should be reading the things that they’re publishing about the U.S. budget deficit and should be very concerned that this is something that elected people need to get their arms around sooner rather than later,” Powell said Tuesday in remarks to an audience of bankers in Amsterdam.

It’s Microsoft‘s turn to show off its latest artificial intelligence projects. After OpenAI and Google recently announced new AI models, Microsoft is expected to announce how Windows will enable the AI PC at its Build developer conference this week in Seattle. Microsoft has an advantage over competitors with its ownership of Windows, which gives it a huge PC userbase. The AI PC differs from regular computers in that it has a special processing unit that’s designed to handle artificial intelligence tasks. Qualcomm chips are likely to power some next-generation Windows computers.

Media giants wooed advertisers last week with star-studded Upfront presentations, where they made their annual pitches by showcasing upcoming shows and movies. But even though the stars were back after the Hollywood writers’ strike, the hangover from the work pause and cost-cutting efforts last year showed. Some media companies had fewer series and movies to show off. That meant live sports, with their big audiences and big draw for advertisers, remained key. The NFL played a role in all the major media companies’ presentations, including Netflix. The streamer made perhaps the biggest sports splash for the week when it was announced hours before its presentation that would air NFL games on Christmas Day over the next three years.