5 things to know before the stock market opens Friday

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

We’re heading into day three of the government shutdown, and politicos and investors alike are eager for signs of progress on Capitol Hill. But the closure hasn’t held up the stock market: All three major indexes surged to record highs yesterday.

Here’s the latest:

• President Donald Trump said that the shutdown has given him an “unprecedented opportunity” to slash Democratic priorities.
• It’s jobs report Friday — or at least it would be, if the government wasn’t shut down. In lieu of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payrolls report, economists have turned to alternative data for insights into the labor market’s health.
• All three of the major averages, as well as the small cap-focused Russell 2000, are on track to end the week in the green despite the political volatility.
• Meanwhile, USA Rare Earth shares surged in extended trading after CEO Barbara Humpton confirmed to CNBC that the rare earth miner is “in close communication” with the Trump administration.
• Follow live market updates here.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has taken aim at a new target: Netflix.

This week, the billionaire entrepreneur asked his followers on X to cancel their subscriptions to the streaming service “for the health of your kids.” As CNBC’s Laya Neelakandan reports, his concerns appear to be tied to conservative backlash over Netflix’s animated show, “Dead End: Paranormal Park,” which features a transgender character. The show was canceled in 2023.

Netflix’s shares have dropped 4% so far this week. The company did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

As competition with artificial intelligence rivals such as Google and OpenAI heats up, PerplexityAI is broadening access to its AI-powered web browser.

The browser, named Comet, will be free to use and available worldwide, the company announced yesterday. Perplexity Max subscribers have had access to the browser since July for $200 a month.

Don’t miss Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in the 8 a.m. hour this morning.

A bachelor’s degree no longer offers the coveted pathway to a white-collar career, new data shows. That’s turning the U.S. into what one labor think tank called “no country for young grads.”

The shift can impact economic data used by policymakers to determine the health of the labor market. And for the new college grads finding themselves in this position, it’s leading to a much different young adulthood than what they pictured.

Do you have a Target trip on the agenda today to pick up the vinyl edition of Taylor Swift’s new album? If so, we have good news: Its price tag hasn’t been affected by tariffs.

Vinyl records, CDs and cassette tapes are all untouched from levies. As CNBC’s Luke Fountain reports, that’s due to a Cold War-era exemption to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act known as Berman Amendment.

For Swift’s massive fan base, it’s no small exemption. Billboard estimates that vinyl sales of Swift’s new album, called “The Life of a Showgirl,” may exceed 1 million in the first week alone.