5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday, February 27

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

Stock futures were higher Thursday morning after the S&P 500 managed to end its four-day losing stretch — barely. The broad market index closed just 0.01% higher on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.26%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, ended the session down 188.04 points, or 0.43%, after being up as much as 245.34 points earlier in the day. All three major averages came off their highs midday as uncertainty around President Donald Trump‘s tariff policy worried investors. Follow live market updates.

Nvidia beat Wall Street’s top- and bottom-line expectations for the fourth quarter Wednesday in possibly the most closely watched earnings report of the cycle. The company reported a 78% quarterly revenue increase and provided a strong forecast for the current period — a sign of Nvidia’s confidence that it will continue to benefit from the AI boom. Shares of the chip giant rose more than 3% before the bell Thursday.

Amazon on Wednesday unveiled “Alexa+,” a revamped version of its digital assistant that will be powered by generative AI. The long-awaited overhaul follows years of pressure on the tech giant to catch up to other AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The new version of Alexa will be able to do things like order groceries, book dinner reservations and quiz users on study guides. But unlike its predecessor, Alexa+ won’t be free. Amazon will charge $19.99 a month for the updated tool, though it will be free for Amazon Prime members.

The 10-year Treasury yield passed below the 3-month yield on Wednesday, sparking fears of an economic downturn. An “inverted yield curve,” as it’s called, is the Federal Reserve‘s favorite recession indicator and has a stellar prediction record for downturns going back decades. But that’s not to say a recession is guaranteed: The last yield curve inversion occurred in October 2022, and a recession has yet to happen more than 2 years later. Still, investors are worried that the growth expected from a second Trump administration may not materialize.

President Donald Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on imports from the European Union during his first Cabinet meeting Wednesday, claiming without evidence that the EU “was formed in order to screw the United States.” The president has already announced 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico, 10% tariffs on goods from China, 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and plans for reciprocal tariffs. Trump last week also suggested 25% tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.

— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Brian Evans, Pia Singh, Kif Leswing, Annie Palmer, Jeff Cox and Holly Ellyatt contributed to this report.