5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

Here’s what to know:

• The nation’s largest grocer and private employer narrowly exceeded Wall Street’s expectations on both lines for the fourth quarter.
• Walmart said to expect adjusted earnings per share for the full fiscal year between $2.75 and $2.85, below Wall Street’s forecast of $2.96 per share.
• As CNBC’s Melissa Repko reports, the results come as investors focus on Walmart’s future under new CEO John Furner, who took the helm earlier this month.
• Walmart’s stock has been on a big run: Shares have risen more than 21% over the last 12 months and nearly 175% in the last half decade. Earlier this month, the company hit $1 trillion in market cap.
• Fellow retailer Wayfair also reported results this morning, posting its first annual sales gain since 2020.
• Meanwhile Etsy climbed even higher before the bell after beating Wall Street’s fourth-quarter earnings expectations. Etsy shares were already up double digits in extended trading after the e-commerce platform said yesterday that it is selling clothing resale service Depop to eBay.
• Follow live markets updates here.

As CNBC’s Jeff Cox reports, some Fed members said interest rates could come down further if inflation slides as they expect it to. Others said such easing may not be necessary for some time while they await clear signs that disinflation is taking place.

Speaking of the central bank: White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett told CNBC yesterday that the authors of a recent New York Fed paper should be “disciplined.” Hassett said the study, which found that U.S. companies and consumers are absorbing most of the impacts from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, was “the worst paper I’ve ever seen in the history of the Federal Reserve system.”

In an interview with CNBC’s Annika Kim Constantino, Makary also said that all drugs “should be over the counter” — with the exception of those that are unsafe, addictive or require monitoring. Some in the pharmaceutical industry have raised doubts about the effectiveness of such a move, warning that it could increase costs and decrease access for patients.

Meanwhile, Moderna said yesterday that the FDA agreed to review its experimental mRNA flu shot — a reversal from the regulator’s prior refusal of the application. Moderna’s shares jumped around 6% in yesterday’s session following the announcement.

In his testimony, Zuckerberg said that increasing users’ time spent on Instagram was never a company goal, despite an email he sent in 2015 that seemed to make improving engagement a critical issue for the company. The Facebook founder also said he approached Apple CEO Tim Cook to talk about the “wellbeing of teens and kids.”

Members of Zuckerberg’s team were seen entering the courthouse wearing Meta’s Ray-Ban artificial intelligence glasses, but Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl later threatened to hold anyone using smart glasses during the CEO’s testimony in contempt of court. “If you have done that, you must delete that, or you will be held in contempt of the court,” Kuhl said.

United said Thursday that it will no longer reward customers flying basic economy who don’t have the airline’s credit card, following in the footsteps of American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Card-holding travelers, meanwhile, will earn more points and receive frequent flyer discounts.

As CNBC’s Leslie Josephs reports, the airline’s changes mark some of the biggest adjustments to its frequent flyer program in more than a decade.