5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

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

It’s Bob Iger’s Magic Kingdom, and we’re just living in it. It didn’t take long for Disney’s new/old CEO to put his stamp back on the company after returning late last year after a relatively brief absence. during the company income call Wednesday, Iger unveiled new corporate structure Which makes ESPN its own unit, $5.5 billion in planned cost cuts and 7,000 layoffs. disney Iger had been a top performer in the Dow since his return in November, and the announcement was exactly what Wall Street was watching, as shares surged in after-hours trading. Even Nelson Peltz’s Trian, the activist firm embroiled in a proxy battle with Disney’s board, was affected. “We’re glad Disney is listening,” Trian told CNBC.

tune in: Iger will sit down for an exclusive interview with CNBC’s David Faber on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.

Stocks are targeting a bounceback Thursday after down sessions that saw the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all slide. Beyond Disney, the earnings keep rolling in. Mattel, mgm And Voice Everyone reported after the bell on Wednesday, and PepsiCo posted results before open Thursday. Investors are still in a holding pattern, otherwise, as they await the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves, especially now that Chairman Jerome Powell is talking about “deflationary” factors in the economy. Weekly jobless claims are also due at 8:30 AM ET. Reading live market updates,

Google didn’t like Wednesday’s event to demonstrate it to investors bard artificial intelligence chatbot, parent company shares Alphabet slipped 7% during the trading session. It’s the latest stumbling block for online search leader Google. rival Microsoft It has furthered this with its support for OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which seized the buzz in the early stages of the AI ​​wars. This week, as well, Microsoft announced that it would use ChatGPT to enhance its Bing search engine and Edge Internet browser. Still, while analysts got the impression that Google was racing to seize some heat from Microsoft, they also think the company’s AI offering could be as good as its competitors.

Southwest Airlines isn’t about to forget its holiday slump anytime soon. The government certainly won’t either. The Biden administration is investigating the disturbance, which resulted in the cancellation of more than 16,000 flights between December 21 and 31. and on Thursday the airline’s chief of operations appear before senators on Capitol Hill to take the heat on behalf of the company. “In retrospect, we did not have sufficient winter operating flexibility,” Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watson said in written testimony reviewed by CNBC before a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. hearing is scheduled to start 10 a.m. ET. Despite all the controversy, though, Southwest shares still gained more than 4% this year on Thursday as the airline results from steady demand and higher fares.

Santa Claus didn’t deliver to toy makers. Mattel post income Wednesday, and they were not beautiful, The Barbie and Hot Wheels maker delivered top and bottom line numbers that fell well below Wall Street’s expectations, as consumer spending during the holiday quarter weighed on inflation. Sales of dolls, action figures and Fisher Price toddler toys all dragged down the results. “Our fourth quarter results were below our expectations, as the macro-economic environment was more challenging than expected,” CEO Yannon Kreuz said Wednesday. Lackluster Mattel results come nearly two weeks after rival hasbro warned of a weak holiday quarter and said it would cut 15% of its workforce.

— CNBC’s Sarah Whitten, Lillian Rizzo, Tanaya Machel, Ashley Capote, Leslie Josephs and Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.

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