5 things to know before the stock market opens, Thursday, April 15

Here are the most important news, trends and analyzes that investors need to start their trading day:

US futures rose on Thursday after better-than-expected earnings.

• Bank of America equities rose as first-quarter earnings blew past expectations for booming transactions and investment banking.
• Pepsi shares gained ground after the consumer snack and beverage maker said sales rose nearly 7 percent in the past quarter, exceeding estimates.
• Shares of UnitedHealth, a Dow component, advanced after the results exceeded estimates, and the health insurer raised guidelines for 2021.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell from record levels in volatile transactions as technology stocks fell. The Nasdaq lost 1%. The Dow Jones industrial average slowed down, gaining a modest gain.

The Commerce Department reported on Thursday that March retail sales rose 9.8%, well above estimates for a 6.1% increase. A new batch of Covid stimulus checks boosted consumer purchases last month as the US economy continued to receive support from aggressive congressional spending. February retail sales were slightly revised upwards to a decrease of 2.7%.

The Labor Department reported 576,000 initial unemployment claims last week on Thursday, well below expectations for 710,000 new layoffs. It was easily the lowest in the first days of the pandemic and was a sharp drop from 769,000 revised upwards in the previous week.

Bank of America’s earnings exceeded estimates of strong investment and trading results on investment, as well as the release of loan loss reserves, as fewer consumers were expected to no longer receive loans. Like other banking rivals, BofA has seen a significant gain in improving the US economic outlook in recent months.

Citigroup on Thursday released results that exceeded analysts’ estimates for first-quarter earnings, with strong bank returns on investment and a higher-than-expected release of loan loss reserves. The company also said it is closing retail banking in 13 Asian countries and parts of Europe to focus more on wealth management outside the US

Coinbase Global shares rose another 8% in the premarket on Thursday, a day after the cryptocurrency stock market began with a market value of almost $ 86 billion. Nasdaq offered a reference price of $ 250 per share for the direct listing of Coinbase late on Tuesday. In a volatile session, the shares opened at $ 381 and rose rapidly to $ 429, exceeding a market capitalization of $ 100 billion. It fell below the starting price in one stage and reached a low of about $ 310. It closed at $ 328. Coinbase hit the public market as a record amount of cash poured into bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has decided to postpone a decision on Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine while investigating the cases of six women who develop a rare but severe blood clotting disorder that has left one person dead and another in critical condition. The panel met on Wednesday, a day after the FDA asked states to temporarily stop using the J&J vaccine “out of an abundance of precaution.” Postponing the panel means that the break for the J&J vaccine remains in effect. The CDC committee voted unanimously to meet within a week.

– Follow all market actions like a pro CNBC Pro. Get the latest pandemic news with CNBC’s coronavirus blog.