5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday, October 18

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

Stocks had a great day to start the week. The Dow surged 550 points, and the S&P 500 jumped over 2.6%. But Monday was especially kind to the Nasdaq, which rose 3.4% to notch its best day since way back in late July. Can this last, though? Futures on Tuesday morning indicated we could be in for more gains. So far, companies have delivered decent earnings reports, and, after creating so much market turmoil with a tax-cut-heavy economic plan, the UK government has reversed course (even if the prime minister is in the hot seat). But nothing is simple as long as inflation remains high and the Fed is dead set on hiking rates to cool prices. “I think this is going to be one of those bear market rallies that has people scratching their heads,” Guy Adami, director of advisor advocacy at Private Advisor Group, said on CNBC’s “Fast Money.” Follow live market updates here.

Microsoft laid off more employees as the tech giant faces slowing revenue growth, particularly as the PC market cools down, the company confirmed to CNBC on Monday. “Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly,” a Microsoft spokesperson said. The number of layoffs is unclear, but the move comes three months after Microsoft cut less than 1% of its workforce, which was 181,000 strong as recently as summer 2021. Axios, citing an unnamed source, had reported earlier Monday that the new round of cuts affected under 1,000 workers.

Ukraine reported more explosions in cities as Russia pressed its deadly air assault on urban centers. Ukraine’s government pleaded for more air defense help from its western allies as it worked to fix infrastructure problems caused by the Russian strikes. “Ukraine is under fire by the occupiers. They continue to do what they do best – terrorize and kill civilians,” President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said. Elsewhere, Danish officials said explosions were the cause of a major gas leak suffered by the Nord Stream pipelines in late September. Other authorities have said the explosions indicate sabotage. Read live updates here.

Investors have some big questions for Netflix when the streaming giant reports third quarter earnings after the market closes Tuesday. For one, will there be anymore details on the new ad-supported tier? The less-expensive version of the service launches in just a few weeks in some big markets, including the United States, and Wall Street is curious about whether Netflix will offer any financial guidance pegged to it. Another question: Was subscriber growth as strong as the company expected in the third quarter? During its last earnings report, when it reported fewer subscriber losses than projected, Netflix said it would snag a million subscriber adds during the third quarter. And what is the company doing to keep viewers coming back? According to a new article from The Wall Street Journal, Netflix has been trying to figure out how to do that while it adjusts its business model.

It’s getting colder, and the holiday season will get into full swing soon. That means more parties and dinners – and more people getting sick, whether it’s from the flu, the common cold or Covid. Seniors still face the highest risk of hospitalization and death from Covid, even as vaccines and treatments have become stronger and more prevalent. That’s why the White House’s Covid czar is urging seniors to get boosters as soon as possible. “If you’re over 50, certainly if you’re over 65, you’ve got to go get these vaccines because it actually, literally could save your life,” Dr. Ashish Jha said Monday. “It’s a difference between life and death.” Indeed, earlier this month, Jha said that about about 70% of people dying from Covid these days are 75 and older. More than 300 people in the United States are dying each day from the disease.

– CNBC’s Carmen Reinicke, Jordan Novet, Sam Meredith and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.

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