Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Fed here, Fed there
Stock futures rose after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said the Fed might be able to cut rates in its next meeting. That came just days after the Fed held rates steady (again) at its most recent meeting on Wednesday. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 107 points, or 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.3% and S&P 500 futures added 0.2%. U.S. markets were closed Thursday for the Juneteenth holiday. Follow live market updates.
2. Israel-Iran conflict
President Donald Trump said he will make a decision on joining Israel’s military campaign against Iran “within the next two weeks.” Israel and Iran have been trading fire for days. Meanwhile, U.K., France and Germany officials are set to hold talks Geneva on Friday in a bid to de-escalate the conflict. Markets have been shaken by the possibility that the conflict could potentially disrupt oil supply in the Middle East.
3. Met-AI
The logo of Meta is seen at the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, France, June 11, 2025.
Meta wanted to buy Ilya Sutskever’s artificial intelligence startup worth $32 billion, but is now planning to hire its CEO and co-founder, Daniel Gross, instead, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Sutskever rebuffed Meta’s efforts to buy Safe Superintelligence earlier this year. Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman would also join Meta along with Gross, according to the people, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. Meta’s moves come as the AI race continues to heat up.
4. Stable GENIUS
A screen shows the logo of Circle, the issuer of one of the world’s biggest stablecoins, on the day of the company’s IPO at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in New York City, U.S., June 5, 2025.
Shares of Circle kept climbing Friday as investors feel optimistic about cryptocurrency after the Senate approval of its proposed stablecoin legislation, the GENIUS Act. Circle is on pace to end the week higher by nearly 50% and the stock is up than 500% since it went public on June 5. Stablecoins — or cryptocurrencies which have a value pegged to that of another asset, usually the U.S. dollar — have seen a boost with the GENIUS (short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins) Act, which seeks to establish clear regulatory guidelines for them.
5. Olive branch
An aerial view of an Olive Garden restaurant on June 20, 2024 in Rohnert Park, California.
Darden Restaurants is predicting growth into 2026. The parent company of Olive Garden beat fourth-quarter earnings and revenue when it reported results Friday. It also saw same-store sales climb for Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse. “Our strategy remains the right one for the company, and we will continue to execute it to drive growth and long-term shareholder value,” CEO Rick Cardenas said in a release Friday.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Brian Evans, Jeff Cox, Ruxandra Iordache, Kate Rooney, Tanaya Macheel and Ali McCadden contributed to this report.