5 things to know before the stock market opens Friday

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

Friday is the last trading day of 2023 and S&P 500 is within 0.28% of the all-time closing high it has been chasing this week. The broad market index was little changed on Thursday, posting year-to-date gains of more than 24% with just one session left. He Dow Jones Industrial Averagewhich has already reached a record, advanced 0.14% on Thursday and almost 14% in the year, while the Nasdaq Composite remained stable with gains of 44% so far this year. Continue Live market updates.

The boom times in consumer spending may be coming to an end, as some companies start to lose their pricing power. The Covid pandemic ushered in a long period of big spending on everything from home improvements to travel and restaurants. And inflation only helped prop up prices. But with prices cooling, demand declining and supply improving, the era of price-resistant spending may be over for some. Fedex, Nike and Aim everyone has cut sales forecasts, and spirit airlines, Hasbro and others have turned to cost cutting to maintain profits in the face of slowing revenues.

This year saw the end of cheap money for tech startups, as venture investors reeled from the record levels of funding they had poured into new businesses. That lack of easy money led to several high-profile failures. We work and Bird filed for bankruptcy, while fads like Hyperloop One, video conferencing startup Hopin, and social audio company Clubhouse faded. More startup bubbles are likely to burst in 2024 as cash continues to become scarce for unsustainable businesses. However, some venture capitalists say there is still money for good companies.

Say has had enough turn around this year. Its shares are up 430% so far in 2023 as of Thursday's close, outpacing all other U.S. tech companies worth $5 billion or more. This is a drastic change from last year, when it ended 2022 with a 90% drop, wiping out billions of dollars in market value. Investors Feeling Optimistic After Affirm Signed Partnerships With Amazon, Walmart and other retailers. Strategists note that Affirm faces challenges ahead but, for now, is leading the buy-now-pay-later boom.

The notorious 737 Max airplane you may have another problem. boeing is urging airlines to inspect the plane for a "possible loose bolt" in the rudder control system. It's just the latest quality problem to achieve Boeing sales success. The company said inspections will last approximately two hours per plane and that all new planes will be checked before being delivered. Alaska Airlines, american airlines and united airlinesAmong the largest customers of the 737 Max, all said they did not expect the controls to cause any operational impact.

— CNBC's Samantha Subin, Leslie Josephs, Rohan Goswami and Annie Palmer contributed to this report.

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