5 things to know before the stock market opens on Monday March 6

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

US stock markets enter the week after a strong five-day run. The Dow snapped a four-week losing streak on Friday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also ended the week higher. Whether that’s a brief reprieve or the start of a new rebound remains to be seen, but the overall mood is bleak. While inflation has subsided, the economic situation continues to favor high inflation. This means more warmongering from the Federal Reserve. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll hear from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, and investors will be eager to hear the latest clues on how the central bank will approach its next rate hike decision. This Friday also brings the February jobs report. If it’s anything like the January number (a surprisingly high number of 517,000), watch out. Follow live market updates.

Over the weekend, China announced that it would target 5% GDP growth for the year. That’s quite conservative, given that the country’s GDP target for 2022 was slightly higher than that, even though it still had so-called zero Covid measures in place. (China ended up posting 3% GDP growth for 2022.) The Chinese government’s muted official projection reflects the broader uncertainty in markets and economies around the world. There’s the Russian war in Ukraine, the trade and technology standoff between the United States and China, the continued emergence of India, and lingering worries about inflation. In China, meanwhile, the government is dealing with the fallout from the lifting of Covid restrictions and a property sector that still has a long way to go before it recovers.

Earnings season is winding down, but many consumer and retailer names are yet to report. Investors are keeping a close eye on these companies to get a more detailed picture of how the consumer is doing in this inflation-ridden economy. So far, the word on the retail front is “caution” as businesses expect a more frugal consumer this year. Here are the big names reporting earnings this week:

You’re here is strengthening its edge in electric vehicles by again lowering the prices of some of its models as competitors such as General Motors and Ford scramble to catch up on electric vehicles. The company has cut prices on two of its most expensive models, the S and X, according to Reuters and other outlets. The cuts come shortly after Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that demand had picked up following other recent price cuts. “People’s desire to own a Tesla is extremely high. The limiting factor is their ability to pay for a Tesla,” he said at the company’s Investor Day last week. Fueling demand has become Tesla’s top priority after a brutal 2022 for the company’s stock.

The battle for the town of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine is raging. Russian forces have had their Ukrainian counterparts on the ropes in the region for a little while now, but it’s still unclear how long the fight will last there. A Ukrainian commander said on Sunday the defenses were still holding, although he acknowledged the situation in Bakhmut was “quite hellish, like the whole eastern front”. Elsewhere, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told CNN the only condition for peace talks would be the complete withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine. Follow live war updates.

– CNBC’s Sarah Min, Evelyn Cheng and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.

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