5 things to know before the stock market opens Friday

Business

1. Wall Street set to open with more records

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 10, 2020.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

U.S. stock futures were pointing to more records at Friday’s open on Wall Street after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed Thursday at new high marks. The 18-month U.S.-China trade war, which saw some deescalation this week with the signing of a “phase one” deal, has taken its toll on the Chinese economy. Gross domestic product there grew in 2019 by the slowest rate in nearly 30 years. The 6.1% print for last year matched estimates. It was down from 2018’s 6.6% advance. Beijing’s official growth target for 2019 was 6% to 6.5%. After floating their names in July, President Donald Trump will nominate economists Judy Shelton and Christopher Waller to serve on the Federal Reserve Board. They face Senate confirmation.

2. Another tech giant hits $1 trillion in stock market value

Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer at Google LLC, speaks during the Google Cloud Next ’19 event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 9, 2019.

Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Google parent-company Alphabet hit $1 trillion in stock market value, the fourth American company to hit the milestone. Analysts are bullish on Alphabet’s newly appointed CEO, Sundar Pichai, who had been chief of just the Google unit. In a surprise announcement in December, founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announced plans to step down as Alphabet’s CEO and president. Apple in 2018 was the first U.S. company to hit a $1 trillion market cap. Amazon and Microsoft followed. However, Amazon has since fallen below the mark.

3. Microsoft CEO: Companies need to act on climate change

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft

CNBC

Microsoft has unveiled an ambitious green plan aimed at making the company “carbon negative” this decade. By 2050, the company hopes to have removed as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that it’s emitted since being founded in 1975. Following that announcement, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday evening that capitalism “will fundamentally be in jeopardy” if business does not act to mitigate the negative affects of climate change. “The corporation’s purpose is to find profitable solutions to the problems of people and planet,” Nadella said on “Mad Money.”

4. McConnell issues next steps in Trump’s Senate impeachment trial

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaking during the Republican Senate Caucus press conference.- PHOTOGRAPH BY Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire/ Barcroft Media (Photo credit should read Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire / Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Michael Brochstein | Echoes Wire | Barcroft Media | Getty Images

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell laid out the next steps in the Trump impeachment trial. The Kentucky Republican gave the House until Saturday and the White House counsel until Monday to deliver briefs outlining their arguments. The Senate trial resumes Tuesday afternoon. On Thursday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was sworn in as the presiding judge for the trial — and the senators, who act as jurors, were sworn in. The GOP-controlled Senate is unlikely to vote to remove the Republican Trump from office.

5. Bloomberg passes Trump’s Google ad spend in 2020 election cycle

Then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg during a memorial service at the National 9/11 Memorial September 11, 2016 in New York.

Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

The campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg has already surpassed Trump’s Google ad spending for 2020 election. Data compiled by digital tracking firm Acronym shows that Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York mayor, has spent more than $18 million on Google ads. Trump’s campaign has spent at least $12 million on Google since May 2018. Bloomberg has vowed to use his vast fortune to self-finance his run for the White House.

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