5 things to know before the stock market opens on Friday

Here are the most important information investors need to start their trading day:

We hope you had a great Thanksgiving. If you have to work today, please don’t work too hard. U.S. stock markets start early, anyway, at 1 p.m. ET. (Bond markets close at 2:00 p.m.) Despite a short week with somewhat weak trading volumes, equities are on track to end the period in positive territory. The Fed’s minutes released on Wednesday gave traders a bit of extra oomph. Central bank policymakers have signaled readiness to slow the pace of rate hikes given some progress in tackling inflation. Read live market updates here.

The pressure is on for retailers to stage a strong holiday season, kicking off in earnest with Black Friday sales. But retailers have also largely painted themselves into a corner with a steady stream of promotions and sales for months now, as they seek to eliminate excess inventory piling up due to supply chain issues or simple changes in what customers want. The National Retail Federation said 166.3 million people are expected to shop over the weekend. It would be a record. But will they spend enough to have stores where they need to be? CNBC’s Melissa Repko explains what’s at stake for the retail industry in its most important time of the year.

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky gave European governments a pep talk on Friday, urging them to stick together as Russia’s war in his country drags on. “There is no split, there is no schism between Europeans and we have to preserve that. This is our number one mission this year,” Zelenskyy said in a video address at a conference. in Lithuania. Zelenskyy’s remarks came as Ukraine grapples with widespread blackouts and infrastructure breakdowns following a deluge of Russian missile attacks. Read live war updates here.

Elon Musk is going to throw even more spaghetti on Twitter’s headquarters wall. The billionaire electric car and rocket tycoon said Friday that his social network will be rolling out a series of verified checkmarks in different colors next week. “Gold check for businesses, gray check for government, blue for individuals (celebrity or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated prior to check activation,” he wrote on Twitter, adding, “ Painful, but necessary”. Musk said more details would come next week. The latest change comes after it was forced to suspend the $8-a-month Twitter Blue service after numerous users impersonated brands and celebrities.

Crypto exchange Binance said it has opened a billion-dollar recovery fund for the industry as it recovers from the bankruptcy of FTX and the growing scandal surrounding founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Binance, led by CEO Changpeng Zhao, said the fund is intended to help businesses that “through no fault of their own are facing significant short-term financial difficulties.” About 150 companies have already applied for help from the fund, Binance said, adding that it could increase the money available to $2 billion, “if the need arises.”

– CNBC’s Carmen Reinicke, Sarah Min, Melissa Repko, Karen Gilchrist, Arjun Kharpal and Ryan Browne contributed to this report.

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