Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. S&P 5,000
The S&P 500 crossed 5,000 for the first time in the final minutes of trading Thursday, but came back down to close at a record 4,997.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also notched a new record, closing at 38,726.33. Despite the new milestones, gains for each of the major indexes were fairly muted, at just 0.06% for the S&P, 0.13% for the Dow and 0.24% for the Nasdaq Composite. Each index is in positive territory for the week heading into the final trading session of the period. Follow live market updates.
2. PINS + PEP
Another pair of earnings reports dropped in the last 18 hours: Pinterest and PepsiCo. Pinterest reported fourth-quarter earnings after the bell Thursday, issuing weaker-than-expected guidance and reporting disappointing revenue. The stock initially tanked in after-hours trading but recovered a bit after the social media platform announced a new partnership with Google. Pepsi reported its Q4 results before the bell Friday morning, topping earnings estimates but revealing a slight year-over-year revenue decline. Higher prices helped prop up organic revenue, but contributed to a drop in volume as shoppers watch their wallets.
3. Bye ‘Bard’
Google is rebranding its artificial intelligence chatbot, formerly called Bard, in its latest investment into AI. The chatbot will now be called Gemini, and it’s available in a dedicated app for Android users as of Thursday. (iPhone users can access Gemini via the Google app on iOS.) And for power users, there’s now a subscription option for Google’s most powerful AI model, called Gemini Ultra 1.0, for $19.99 per month. Google is angling to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which skyrocketed in popularity last year, and got Wall Street talking about large language models.
4. Hot cocoa prices
Prices on cocoa are at all-time highs after bad weather dented West African crop yields. Three-quarters of the world’s cocoa production comes from the region, including Ghana and Ivory Coast, where the El Nino weather phenomenon has caused drier temperatures. Cocoa futures hit a record intraday high of $5,874 per metric ton Thursday, up more than $1,000 or nearly 40% since the start of the year.
5. Level up
The airport lounge is getting more exclusive at Delta Air Lines. The carrier is introducing a “premium” tier of lounges, starting with a 38,000-square-foot location at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport — complete with a full-service restaurant and “wellness” areas — opening in June. It’s one solution to the problem of overcrowding in airport lounges as more and more fliers rack up credit card rewards, flight upgrades or status. As travel demands persist, airlines have been trying to strike the right balance of growing their membership ranks while preserving perks. Delta didn’t say what would qualify travelers for entry to the top-tier lounges. It will open other high-end lounges in Boston and Los Angeles later this year.
