5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

For the main factors driving stocks, there are few bigger weeks than the one ahead. The Federal Reserve, which has so far succeeded in its push to curb inflation without triggering a recession in the U.S., will release its next interest rate decision on Wednesday. Investors expect the central bank to keep rates steady, after data last week showed the economy grew more than expected at the end of last year while inflation cooled. Meanwhile, many of the tech companies that have helped to push stocks near record highs will report results during a packed week of earnings. Follow live market updates here.

This week will be the busiest one of earnings season, as about one-fifth of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average will report. Many of the tech companies posting results, which are a handful of the largest U.S. businesses by market cap, have accounted for a disproportionate share of the stock market’s success in the last year. Investors will get a glimpse into the health of Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Apple, at a time when tech companies have carried out a string of layoffs. The major earnings go beyond tech: Boeing, General Motors and Starbucks will all report this week. Pharma also has a big week ahead, headlined by Novo Nordisk, which has seen its market cap soar amid a boom in weight loss drugs. Here are the reports to watch this week:

• Tuesday: General Motors, Pfizer, JetBlue, UPS (before the bell); Microsoft, Alphabet, Starbucks, Advanced Micro Devices (after the bell)
• Wednesday: Boeing, Novo Nordisk, GlaxoSmithKline (before the bell); Qualcomm (after the bell)
• Thursday: Merck, Peloton (before the bell); Amazon, Meta, Apple (after the bell)
• Friday: Bristol-Myers Squibb (before the bell)

Boeing reports earnings as investors raise fresh questions about its 737 Max program. The company’s shares have dropped more than 20% this year, after a panel blew out of a 737 Max 9 plane earlier this month during an Alaska Airlines flight. Over the weekend, Reuters reported that United Airlines has reached out to Airbus about purchasing A321neo jets as the company awaits long-delayed 737 Max 10 jets. During a CNBC interview last week, United CEO Scott Kirby cast doubts about whether that order would come to fruition. Boeing also reports days after its CEO Dave Calhoun went to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers about the latest Max issues.

Some big pharmaceutical companies, including two that will report earnings this week, may have to get crafty to stay competitive in the years ahead. Many high-selling drugs are set to fall off a so-called patent cliff, when businesses lose exclusive rights to a treatment and competitors can introduce alternatives, often at a cheaper price. It can mean lower costs for consumers and billions of dollars less in revenue for drugmakers. Biotech and pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb are trying to either build out other parts of their businesses or get creative to delay the expiration of their patents in order to blunt the revenue losses.

It’s a Super Bowl rematch. The Kansas City Chiefs will face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11. The Chiefs will play in their fourth Super Bowl in five years, which includes a win over the 49ers in 2020, after beating the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens and likely league MVP Lamar Jackson. The 49ers notched a second-half comeback win over the upstart Detroit Lions. The spectacle in the gambling capital of the U.S. will come as the NFL has fully embraced legal sports betting. It could also bring one more Taylor Swift boost to a league that has enjoyed a bump in engagement due to the music superstar’s relationship with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

– CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Robert Hum, Leslie Josephs and Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this report.

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