5 Things to Know Before the Stock Market Opens on Friday, June 28

Here are five key things investors should know to start the trading day:

The S&P 500 closed little changed on Thursday, ending the day up just 0.09% as investors awaited fresh inflation data (more on that below). Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.30%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added just 36.26 points, or 0.09%. Major semiconductor stocks were lower for the day, with Micron down more than 7% and market leader Nvidia down 1.9%. Follow live market updates.

Investors will be looking for good news Friday morning on a key measure of inflation that the Federal Reserve is closely monitoring. The PCE price index is expected to show little, if any, monthly increase for May. If successful, this would be the first time such a reading has been recorded since November 2023. When excluding volatile food and energy prices, Dow Jones expects the core personal consumption expenditures price index to rise 0.1% month-on-month and 2.6% on the month. last year. It is the lowest annual reading since March 2021. In addition to the inflation figures, at 8:30 a.m. ET the Commerce Department will release figures on personal income and consumer spending.

Summer is in full swing, but home prices may finally be starting to fall. Several reports show that price gains are easing and that home sellers are starting to offer a bit more. The typical home sold for slightly less than asking price — 0.3% less — for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic during the four weeks ending June 23, according to real estate brokerage Redfin. Supply has also started to grow, with active listings now 35% higher than they were this time last year, after a significant drop in inventory. But even so, home prices are up 47% from where they were in early 2020, and the median sale price is five times the median household income.

Shares of Walgreens fell 22% on Thursday after the company reported earnings that fell short of expectations and lowered its full-year revised earnings forecast. The retail pharmacy giant said it faces a “challenging” environment. “We assumed … in the second half that the consumer would be somewhat stronger,” but “that is not the case,” CEO Tim Wentworth told CNBC. The results come as Walgreens works to simplify its U.S. healthcare portfolio and cut costs by closing underperforming U.S. stores, among other things.

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump faced off in their first debate of the 2024 presidential campaign on Thursday. The two sparred for 90 minutes, touching on topics including the economy, concerns about their age, abortion and more. The debate came as Trump faces two criminal trials over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden. But Biden’s campaign faced tough questions after the event, with worried Democratic donors and fundraisers beginning to voice concerns about his disappointing performance less than 20 minutes into the debate.

CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Jeff Cox, Diana Olick, Annika Kim Constantino, Dan Mangan, Kevin Breuninger, Christina Wilkie, Brian Schwartz, Rebecca Picciotto and Josephine Roselle contributed to this report.

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