5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

• Stocks set to open higher after Nasdaq entered correction territory
• American, United see rough first quarter ahead due to Covid
• Netflix usually beats on Q4 earnings but maybe not this time
• Fauci says FDA could soon clear Pfizer’s vaccine for kids under 5
• Biden says he thinks Putin will order invasion of Ukraine

U.S. stock futures bounced Thursday, one day after the Nasdaq finished in correction territory, down more than 10% from its record high close in November. Tech stocks have been under heavy pressure lately as rising bond yields make it more expensive for companies to borrow to fund growth. Ahead of the new trading day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was riding a four-session losing streak and the S&P 500 has dropped three out of the last four days. The Dow and S&P 500, at the end of Wednesday’s trading, were down nearly 5% and almost 6%, respectively, from their record closes this month. Weekly initial jobless claims increased to 286,000 to the highest level since October. The latest reading was much higher than estimates and up 55,000 from the previous week’s revised level.

American Airlines shares rose 1% in the premarket after the carrier reported Thursday morning a fourth-quarter adjusted loss of $1.42 per share. Analysts had expected a bigger $1.48 per-share loss. Revenue of $9.43 billion was also better than estimates. For the first quarter, as Covid cases spike, American expects revenue to be off up to 22% from the same period of 2019 when it generated $10.6 billion in sales.

After the bell Wednesday, United Airlines delivered a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss of $1.60 per share for the fourth quarter. Revenue of $8.19 billion was also better than expected, thanks to strong holiday bookings. While a surge in Covid cases due to the omicron variant hurt bookings in the near term, the carrier sees a stronger spring and summer. United shares were modestly lower in the premarket.

Shares of Netflix, down 26% from their all-time high in November, rose nearly 1% in Thursday’s premarket. The video streaming giant is set report quarterly results after the bell. According to FactSet, Netflix is expected to earn 83 cents per share in the fourth quarter, when big movies like “Don’t Look Up” were released. The company is projected to continue to benefit from the international sensation series “Squid Game,” which was released Sept. 17. Revenue in Q4 is seen rising roughly 16% to $7.71 billion. Netflix typically beats fourth-quarter earnings expectations and sees its shares pop. However, some Wall Street analysts anticipate weaker results this time around.

White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said the Food and Drug Administration could approve Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid vaccine for children under 5 years old in the next month. Younger children will likely need three doses, because two shots did not induce an adequate immune response in 2- to 4-year-olds in Pfizer’s clinical trials, Fauci said Wednesday. Kids under 5 are particularly vulnerable right now because they are the only age group that is not currently eligible for vaccination.

President Joe Biden said he expects Russian President Vladimir Putin to order an invasion of Ukraine, and warned that a “disaster” awaits Russia if that were to happen. Biden’s remarks at Wednesday afternoon’s news conference marking his first year in office came after intelligence agencies warned that such an attack could be carried out within a month. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv earlier this week. Blinken is set to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.

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