Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Riding high
The S&P 500 is riding a four-day rally on the back of trade de-escalation and positive inflation reports, up 4.5% this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite are also higher on the week, up 2.6% and more than 6%, respectively. Callie Cox of Ritholtz Wealth Management called the recent gains a “sigh of relief in response to the U.S. bringing down tariff rates on China.” She added questions remain about how tariffs will impact the economy, “but at the moment, it seems like moves are driving markets in the absence of any signals coming out of economic data.” Follow live markets updates.
2. Chips in
U.S. President Donald Trump signs a guest book next to United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Qasr Al Watan, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 15, 2025.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
President Donald Trump said Friday the U.S. and United Arab Emirates are working toward allowing the Gulf nation to purchase U.S.-made AI chips. The announcement came after a reported preliminary agreement that covered 500,000 Nvidia H100 chips per year to help the UAE build data centers that would power AI models. Trump said the countries had agreed to “create a path for the UAE to buy some of the world’s most advanced AI semiconductors from American companies,” adding, “it’s a very big contract.”
3. UNH declines
UnitedHealth Group Inc. signage on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Monday, April 21, 2025.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares of UnitedHealth Group plunged Thursday, falling 10%, after a report by the Wall Street Journal of a criminal investigation by the DOJ into potential Medicare fraud. The Journal reported that investigators were focusing their probe on the company’s Medicare Advantage business practices, though it’s unclear what allegations could eventually come to light. UnitedHealth said in a statement that the Department had not notified it of a probe and said “we stand by the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program.”
4. Pairing up
Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Good stores.
Reuters
Dick’s Sporting Goods is buying Foot Locker in a deal worth $2.4 billion. It combines two iconic sports apparel retailers and effectively corners the market on Nike shoes. Still, Foot Locker’s business has been struggling, and there’s at least some concern among Wall Street that Dick’s won’t be able to turn it around. Dick’s Executive Chairman Ed Stack said the company is “up for the job”: “[If] we thought that this was going to impact what we’re able to do with Dick’s, we wouldn’t be doing it.” The companies will continue to operate as separate entities.
5. Cable combination
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
In yet more M&A news, cable companies Charter and Cox have agreed to merge. The deal values privately held Cox at $34.5 billion on an enterprise basis, in line with Charter’s enterprise value based on estimated 2025 earnings, according to a news release. Charter is the second-largest publicly traded cable provider, behind Comcast. Charter’s Spectrum brand will be the consumer-facing business for cable, mobile and other services. Cox Enterprises will own 23% of the outstanding shares of the new company.
– CNBC’s Brian Evans, Pia Singh, Tanaya Macheel, Natasha Turak, Annika Kim Constantino, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Ali McCadden and Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
