- The S&P 500 hit a record ahead of Friday's jobs report.
- The figures are expected to show steady but not rapid job growth.
- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank is “not far” away from being able to cut interest rates.
Here are the key news investors need to start the trading day:
Stocks had a strong day ahead of Friday's jobs report. The S&P 500 posted a record close on Thursday, while the Nasdaq Composite hit a new high during the session. February's jobs numbers and what they mean for monetary policy will be the market catalyst on Friday. A strong earnings season has helped lift stocks. Earlier in the week, the vast majority of the S&P 500 had reported fourth-quarter results, and profits were up 9.8% from a year ago and 6.2% ahead of expectations. Follow live market updates here.
The Fed hasn't cut interest rates as quickly as investors wanted. Still, the day could come soon, central bank Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday. He told a Senate committee that the Fed is “not far away” from easing monetary policy. Powell said the Fed wanted to be more confident that inflation was moving “sustainably” toward its 2% target. While price increases have eased in recent months, the consumer price index rose a stronger-than-expected 3.1% in January compared to the same period last year.
Novo Nordisk continues its rise to establish itself among the world's most valuable companies. Shares of the Danish drugmaker hit a record high on Thursday after promising data on an experimental weight-loss pill was released. With this jump, its market capitalization exceeded $600 billion and overtook Tesla as the 12th most valuable company in the world. The boom in demand for its weight loss and diabetes medications is expected to continue in the coming years. And at least one U.S. insurer — Cigna — is working to make the treatments easier to access.
Major grocers are vying to get orders to customers' doorsteps. Walmart, Target and Kroger are all emphasizing fast home grocery delivery as part of new or existing subscription services. In an increasingly competitive grocery market, all major retailers are trying to attract shoppers through convenience and encourage more frequent orders. Walmart is the largest U.S. grocer by market share, with Kroger in second place. Target, in ninth place, sees its new paid membership option as a way to increase sales in this area.
—CNBC's Pia Singh, Robert Hum, Jeff Cox, Karen Gilchrist, Annika Kim Constantino and Melissa Repko contributed to this report.
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