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5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

By

Andrew Bacevich

-

July 17, 2025

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

1. Mixed messages

President Donald Trump on Wednesday denied the he plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell following reports that he told Republican lawmakers that he would. A senior White House official told CNBC that Trump asked House Republicans in the Oval Office Tuesday evening whether he should fire Powell. After receiving lawmakers’ support, the official said, Trump “indicated he likely will soon.” But the president later said that firing the central bank chief is “highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud.” Stocks dipped when news broke of Trump’s reported plans to try to oust Powell, but they recovered after his denial. All three major indexes closed Wednesday’s session in the green. Tensions between the White House and the Fed have escalated as Trump continues to push the Fed chief to lower interest rates. Most recently, administration officials have railed against Powell over renovations to the Fed’s Washington headquarters. Follow live market updates.

2. Crypto limbo

A man wearing a Bitcoin logo pendant visits the Token 2049 crypto conference in Dubai on May 1, 2025.

Giuseppe Cacace | Afp | Getty Images

House lawmakers advanced a trio of crypto regulation bills late Wednesday after fresh opposition from some House Republicans held up the legislation for 10 hours. The House ultimately approved the rules of debate for the bills after a group of ‘no’ votes flipped to yesses, but the struggle to even get to that point raised doubts as to whether House Republicans will be able to align on the crypto regulation bills and pass the final versions. Wednesday’s marathon vote was longest open vote in modern House history, surpassing the record set earlier this month.

3. Little pop

Bottles of Pepsi soda are displayed in a store on March 17, 2025 in New York City.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

PepsiCo‘s second-quarter earnings and revenue topped Wall Street estimates, giving shares a boost in premarket trading on Thursday. The stock rose 3% even though the snack-and-soda giant also reported softer demand, with worldwide food volumes down 1.5% and drink volumes flat on the year. But CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a statement that the domestic business is improving. The maker of its namesake soda and food brands Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods reiterated its full-year forecast, expecting core constant currency earnings per share to be about unchanged from last year and a revenue increase in the low-single digit percentage.

4. Middle ground

A United Airlines Boeing 757 departs from Los Angeles International Airport en route to New York on Sept. 19, 2024.

Kevin Carter | Getty Images

United Airlines revised its full-year earnings forecast — right in the middle of the two scenarios it provided in April. The carrier missed revenue estimates but beat on EPS for the second quarter as it and other airlines continue to see weaker-than-expected demand and fares for domestic-coach class travel this year. Premium and international demand continue to outperform. United outlined the costs from operational troubles at its major hub, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, where the FAA recently capped flights to reduce disruptions from a shortage of air traffic controllers. TD Cowen airline analyst Tom Fitzgerald translated the hit as $218 million on pretax margin for the second quarter and about $140 million for the current quarter. United expects a strong finish to 2025 after a rocky start.

5. Bylaw backlash

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of SpaceX and Tesla, attends the Viva Technology conference at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, June 16, 2023.

Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters

Officials in New York State are asking Tesla to get rid of a change it made to one of its corporate bylaw that would require investors to own 3% of the stock in order to file a derivative lawsuit against the company for breach of fiduciary duties. CNBC reported on Wednesday that overseers of the New York State Common Retirement Fund submitted a formal proxy proposal and letter to the company on July 11, accusing Elon Musk’s automaker of engaging in a “bait-and-switch” to convince shareholders to approve an incorporation move from Delaware to Texas. The fund owns about 0.1% of Tesla’s shares.

— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Jeff Cox, Erin Doherty, Amelia Lucas and Lora Kolodny contributed to this article.