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Happy Friday. If you're already starting to think about how to maximize next year's tax return, my colleague Hayley Cuccinello breaks down how the wealthiest among us are preparing.
Stock futures are rising this morning after a winning session.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Peace talks
Stocks climbed higher in yesterday's session after President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to 10-day ceasefire, inviting leaders from both countries to the White House for peace talks. Iran had previous called Israeli attacks on Lebanon a violation of Tehran's own ceasefire with the U.S.
Here's what to know:
- Thursday's rally propelled the S&P 500 to another all-time high. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded its 12th straight day of gains, its longest winning streak since 2009.
- Trump last night said the U.S.-Iran war is going "swimmingly" and "should be ending pretty soon."
- But just a handful of oil tankers are transiting the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S. continues to blockade Iranian ports.
- Uncertainty around the strait again pushed crude oil prices to near $100 a barrel yesterday. Still, Trump said gasoline prices were "not very high."
- Oil prices are lower this morning after Trump's latest comments that war could be near its end.
- Follow live markets updates here.
2. Closing credits
Netflix easily beat analyst expectations on both lines for the first quarter yesterday. The streaming giant saw a big jump in earnings per share thanks partly to the $2.8 billion breakup fee it received following the termination of its proposed Warner Bros. Discovery deal.
The California-based company also announced a key leadership change: Chairman, co-founder and former CEO Reed Hastings will step down from Netflix's board after his term ends in June. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote off the idea that Hastings' departure is tied to the WBD deal, calling Hastings a "big champion" for Netflix's bid for WBD's assets.
Netflix shares tumbled around 10% in premarket trading.
3. At odds
There's a tale of two sectors playing out in tech as the Nasdaq continues its big win streak.
Quantum stocks have surged this week amid investor optimism that Nvidia's open-source artificial intelligence models will boost quantum computing adoption. IonQ and D-Wave Quantum shares have soared more than 50% just this week, while Quantum Computing and Rigetti Computing have climbed more than 30%.
At the same time, shares of Taiwan Semiconductor and ASML sank despite strong earnings reports from both chip manufacturers. As CNBC's Katie Tarasov reports, their moves are the latest example of chipmaker stocks buckling under the weight of lofty expectations.
4. Birds of a feather
Allbirds isn't the only company unexpectedly pivoting to AI this week: Social media company Myseum announced that it is zeroing in on using AI agents for personalization on its platforms.
Shares of the penny stock jumped about 130% in Thursday's session. While the company is changing its name to Myseum.AI, it said it will continue to trade under the MYSE ticker.
The move comes after retail investors rushed into Allbirds' stock following its own announcement that it would shift its focus from shoes to AI. But as CNBC's Yun Li notes, history shows that this type of trade doesn't typically pan out well.
5. Pep in its step
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signaled this week that regulators could ease restrictions on peptides. That could be welcome news for Hims & Hers as it looks for its next growth driver after GLP-1s.
As CNBC's Brandon Gomez reports, the telehealth company has been working on its peptide business for years, notably acquiring a California-based peptide facility in 2025. Peptides are controversial: Their production is largely unregulated and there's limited scientific data on the long-term safety or efficacy of their use.
The Daily Dividend
- The public sours on AI and data centers as Anthropic, OpenAI look to IPO and tech keeps spending
- Spirit Airlines could liquidate as early as this week, sources say
- Why Goldman's bond traders stumbled while Wall Street rivals thrived
- Kevin Warsh wants to lead a scandal-ridden Fed. His wealth is a complication
- Vance's Iran and Orbán setbacks raise questions about his standing with Trump
- Trump nominates Erica Schwartz as CDC director amid turmoil around leadership, vaccine policy
— CNBC's Hayley Cuccinello, Kevin Breuninger, Dan Mangan, Sean Conlon, Lisa Kailai Han, Greg Iacurci, Spencer Kimball, Lee Ying Shan, Lillian Rizzo, Samantha Subin, Katie Tarasov, Yun Li and Brandon Gomez contributed to this report.
Davis Giangiulio assisted in the production of this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.