5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday

© Provided by CNBC Trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, March 28, 2023.

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

1. Short week ahead

U.S. stock markets will only be open four days this week, with exchanges closed Good Friday. Heading in to the frame, investors are looking for more momentum from stocks. The three major indices finished the first quarter higher, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which is attempting to shake off last year’s harsh losses. This week also brings a slew of data points for investors to chew over, including job openings and ADP private payrolls. On Friday, even though the market is closed, the government will release its hotly anticipated March jobs report. Follow live markets updates.

2. Oil surge © Provided by CNBC Crude oil storage tanks at the Juaymah Tank Farm in Saudi Aramco’s Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Saudi Arabia, in 2018.

Oil prices jumped Monday after a group of major oil producers led by the Saudis vowed to cut production this year. As part of the move, Saudi Arabia will reduce production itself by 500,000 barrels a day, while the United Arab Emirates will slash its daily production by 144,000 barrels. Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, Algeria and Kazakhstan will also scale back on output. The move, which is aimed at pushing prices higher, could throw a wrench into central banks’ fight against inflation. The decision by the group, known as OPEC+, also follows Russia’s decision to reduce its oil output by 500,000 barrels a day. Russia’s economy is feeling the crunch from piles of U.S. and western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

3. Tag team © Provided by CNBC World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Chairman Vince McMahon is introduced during the WWE Monday Night Raw show at the Thomas & Mack Center August 24, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Now this is how you cap a WrestleMania weekend. Just as WWE was about to wrap the biggest event on its calendar, CNBC’s Alex Sherman broke the news that Vince McMahon’s wrestling empire would merge with Dana White’s UFC under the control of media executive, super agent and “Entourage” inspiration Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor Group. The companies officially announced the deal Monday morning. The agreement values WWE at $9.3 billion and UFC at $12.1 billion. The two combat sports organizations would unite under a single company (that’s yet to be named) that would be separate from Endeavor. Emanuel is slated to be CEO of both, while McMahon and White will also hold on to leadership roles.

4. Starbucks controversy © Provided by CNBC Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz drinks from a Starbucks mug while testifying before a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to answer questions about the company’s compliance with labor law on Capitol Hill in Washington., U.S., March 29, 2023. 

Starbucks fired Alexis Rizzo, one of the key people behind the organized labor push at the coffee giant, triggering backlash from the Starbucks Workers United union. Her termination came a couple days after Howard Schultz, the three-time former CEO of Starbucks, defended the company’s labor practices in a Senate hearing led by pro-union Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont. Sanders has accused Schultz and Starbucks of union-busting tactics, which the former executive and the company dispute. Starbucks said Rizzo had been written up for being late on several occasions at her Buffalo, New York, cafe. Rizzo told CNBC’s Ashley Capoot that she had been one minute late on two of those four instances. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two days after Howard Schultz had his ego bruised the way that he did that he started lashing out at Buffalo,” she said.

5. Ukraine pushes back © Provided by CNBC Ukrainian servicemen fire an artillery shell near the frontline area amid the Russia-Ukraine war, in Bakhmut, Ukraine on April 02, 2023.

Ukraine’s government rejected a claim from the Wagner mercenary group’s leader, who said Russian forces had technically captured the eastern Ukraine town of Bakhmut. Ukrainian and Russian fighters have been embroiled in a bitter battle over Bakhmut for weeks on end, becoming a symbol of the whole war, which is now in its second year. “Bakhmut is Ukraine. Don’t pay attention on ‘victory’ fake inventors. Not even close to the reality,” a top Ukrainian official tweeted. Meanwhile, Russia continues to imprison Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Read live war updates.

– CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Lee Ying Shan, Alex Sherman, Ashley Capoot and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.

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