5 things to know before the stock market opens Friday

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

Stock futures were up Friday morning as the major indexes look for their third straight week of gains. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 80 points, or 0.24%, while S&P 500 futures advanced 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures were essentially flat. On the week, the Dow is up 1.9% through Thursday’s close, the S&P 500 is up 2.1% and the Nasdaq is up 2.3%. Follow live market updates.

According to Walmart, Christmas may come relatively cheap this year. CEO Doug McMillon said alongside the company’s quarterly earnings report that the retailer expects to see lower prices in some general merchandise and key grocery items. “In the U.S., we may be managing through a period of deflation in the months to come,” he said. “And while that would put more unit pressure on us, we welcome it, because it’s better for our customers.” Shares of the big-box retailer fell 8% on the day following the cautious outlook.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing racked up 295 orders across four days of the 2023 Dubai Air Show, trouncing its French rival Airbus’ 86 orders, according to company reports and third-party tallies. Each year the Middle East’s largest aviation event comes flush with jet orders. This year’s buyers showed a particular appetite for wide-body planes, CNBC’s Natasha Turak reports. Boeing’s popularity at the show represents a notable rebound after years of safety concerns.

Union workers at General Motors ratified a labor deal with the United Auto Workers, according to results posted by the union Thursday. With tallies from all local chapters in, the agreement received 54.7% of the nearly 36,000 votes cast. It came after a contentious final few days of voting, with several major plants rejecting the contracts. But enough workers at smaller facilities voted in support to seal up ratification. Union workers at Ford Motor and Stellantis are still voting on similar contracts. So far, those agreements have won the support of roughly two-thirds of each automaker’s voting population.

More student loan borrowers are walking away from their debt in bankruptcy proceedings — the result of a policy change by the Biden administration intended to help people who were saddled with debt and struggling financially. Ten months after the policy change, student loan borrowers have filed more than 630 bankruptcy cases, marking a “significant increase” from recent years, officials with the Biden administration said. “Our efforts have made a real difference in borrowers’ lives,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said Thursday. Outstanding student debt in the U.S. exceeds $1.7 trillion. Economists have said the swelling debt load could slow the U.S. economy.

– CNBC’s Brian Evans, Melissa Repko, Natasha Turak, Michael Wayland and Annie Nova contributed to this report.

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