5 things you need to know before the stock market opens on Wednesday, January 18

The Goldman Sachs booth is on display at the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on January 17, 2023 in New York City.

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

1. Goldman weighs in on the Dow

The Nasdaq squeezed out another win on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 declined slightly. But it was a particularly rough day for the Dow as a component Goldman Sachs fell more than 6% after posting its worst earnings miss in a decade. The major banks have reported mixed results, making it difficult to determine what to expect as the earnings season progresses. “This is really a critical earnings season to find out if companies can weather the storm and how long they can weather it,” SoFi’s Liz Young said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” On Wednesday, investors will be chewing on more data as the producer price index, a measure of wholesale inflation, comes out. Read live market updates here.

2. Tariffs, demand increase United

A member of the ground crew directs a United Airlines plane to a gate at Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, U.S., on Thursday, January 12, 2023.

Aristide Economopoulos | Bloomberg | Getty Images

It has become a common theme for airlines: airfares are high, but travelers continue to pay. United Airlines on Tuesday it reported quarterly profit and revenue that easily beat Wall Street expectations, while outperforming the fourth quarter in 2019 just before the pandemic rocked travel. Carriers are still struggling with labor shortages and reduced aircraft supply, not to mention higher fuel and material costs, but people want to fly and that has outdone everything. United sees the trend continuing, with a stronger-than-expected outlook for early 2023.

3. Kegerators for sale

Elon Musk Twitter page seen on mobile with his poll to step down as head of Twitter

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Cash-strapped Twitter is practically looking for couch cushion change as it reportedly struggles to pay rent. Amid reports of dramatically lower ad revenue, the social media company is resorting to auctioning off items from its San Francisco headquarters. The company sells kegerators, espresso machines, TVs, oversized neon versions of the logo, pizza ovens, and more. CEO Elon Musk, who took over Twitter last fall, faced an exodus of advertisers and employees as he allowed banned users back onto the platform while also seeking dramatic cost savings.

4. Mortgage demand is rising

On October 27, 2022 in Hollywood, Florida, a “For Sale” sign is in front of a single-family home.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Weekly demand for mortgages skyrocketed after interest rates fell slightly, demonstrating how sensitive the market is to interest rate movements. Aggregate demand rose 28% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as interest rates on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 6.42% to 6.23%. Admittedly, a year ago the rate was 3.64% and the demand for purchases and refinancing was much stronger. There are also no new offerings coming to market, so affordability is likely to continue to be an issue for homebuyers for the foreseeable future.

5. Interior Minister of Ukraine dead

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi has been killed in a helicopter crash in Ukraine.

Photo Alliance | Photo Alliance | Getty Images

A helicopter crash near Kiev on Wednesday killed more than a dozen people, including Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi along with other top officials from his department. Several people on the ground and in the helicopter died in the town of Brovary. Three children are said to be among the dead. The news comes as the war between Ukraine and Russia continues and Russian President Vladimir Putin appears poised to announce a new offensive. Read live war updates here.

– CNBC’s Sarah Min, Leslie Josephs, Jonathan Vanian, Diana Olick and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.

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