5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during afternoon trading on June 02, 2023 in New York City.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

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

1. Hoping to avoid a June swoon

Stocks are chugging right along, but that’s largely because they’ve gotten a boost from a rally in tech. Last week was the best for the S&P 500 so far this year, putting it at its highest point since August. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, has posted six consecutive winning weeks. Whether equities can continue feeling momentum from Friday, when the strong May jobs report and relief over the debt ceiling resolution sent stocks soaring, remains to be seen. For now, though, it looks like the much-expected recession is still nowhere to be seen. Follow live market updates.

2. Oil gets a boost

Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud arrives for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting in Vienna on June 3, 2023.

Joe Klamar | Afp | Getty Images

Oil prices are on the rise Monday after Saudi Arabia said it would cut production by another million barrels per day starting next month. The voluntary cuts come after a meeting of OPEC+ partners in which the group of global petroleum exporters maintained earlier production plans for the rest of the year. International benchmark Brent crude futures traded about 1.6% higher Monday morning, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were about 1.7% higher. Saudi Arabia is the world’s top exporter of oil. The group of countries accounts for about 40% of the world’s crude.

3. New from Apple

Apple WWDC 2023

Apple

Apple is expected to unveil its first new major product line in nearly a decade on Monday, with speculation swirling that its long-awaited mixed-reality headset could anchor the company’s annual WWDC conference. A headset of the sort could feature high-definition screens in front of a user’s eyes, or it could allow the wearer to see and interact with the world around them through high-powered cameras. And hopes are high, despite waning interest in the metaverse. “Apple invents entire new categories that have the potential to disrupt existing markets and create entirely new markets,” Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan wrote in a recent note.

4. Friendly neighborhood box office hit

Still from Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”

Sony

Sony’s latest Marvel extravaganza, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” caught millions of moviegoers in its web over the weekend, racking up $120.5 million in domestic ticket sales. It’s the second-biggest opening for a movie this year behind Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” The “Spider-Verse” results come as Hollywood enters the important summer movie season, with domestic grosses trailing more than 20% behind 2019’s pre-pandemic totals up to this point. The next few weeks will be a test of whether potential blockbusters can help make up the difference. There’s a new “Transformers” movie coming this weekend from Paramount, while June 16 brings Disney-Pixar’s “Elemental” and Warner Bros. Discovery‘s latest DC movie, “The Flash,” which seems like the only sure box office bet of those three. The fifth “Indiana Jones” movie is due at the end of June from Disney, too.

5. Tense times near Taiwan

The U.S. said the video showed the Chinese ship overtaking the USS Chung-Hoon and forcing it to slow its course to avoid a collision, a violation of the maritime “rules of the road.”

U.S. Navy via AP

U.S.-China tension over Taiwan escalated over the weekend, as Chinese and American warships got too close for comfort in the Taiwan Strait. The U.S. military released a video of the incident, which you can watch here. American officials said the Chinese vessel performed an unsafe maneuver, effectively cutting off the U.S. ship and forcing it to slow down. Chinese officials defended the ship’s actions. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory even as the island self governs. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, however, there’s been rising global concern that China may seize Taiwan through military action.

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Universal Pictures and CNBC.

CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Lee Ying Shan, Kif Leswing and Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.

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