5 things to know before the stock market opens on Wednesday, April 17th

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

The S&P 500 index fell 0.21% on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that inflation was not meeting the central bank’s target and no interest rate cuts were expected anytime soon. “Recent data shows solid growth and continued strength in the labor market, but so far this year there has been no further progress returning to the 2% inflation target,” Powell said in a panel discussion Tuesday afternoon. “It also shows that you can’t see it.” During Powell’s speech, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.12% on a rough afternoon for stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend and rose 0.17%, helped by UnitedHealth, which reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Follow live market updates.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde gave a different message from Powell in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday. Lagarde said the ECB is on track to cut interest rates for the time being if there is a major shock. “We need to build a little more confidence in this disinflationary process, but if it goes as we expect and there are no major shocks to development, we will be at the moment when we have to ease restrictive monetary policy. It’s on its way,”’ Lagarde told CNBC’s Sarah Eisen. The ECB kept deposit rates unchanged at 4% for the fifth consecutive meeting on Thursday.

President Joe Biden plans to ask the U.S. Trade Representative to triple China’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Biden’s proposal to raise the current average tax rate of 7.5% comes as his administration warns China about its trade practices. A senior government official said Tuesday that the tariff hike will protect jobs and will not lead to higher inflation. Biden is scheduled to visit the United Steelworkers headquarters in Pittsburgh on Wednesday to demand higher tariffs.

Eli Lilly announced Wednesday that its weight loss drug Zepbound has shown promise in treating patients with obstructive sleep apnea, the most common sleep-related breathing disorder. The drug was more effective than a placebo at reducing the severity of OSA in obese patients, according to preliminary data from two late-stage clinical trials. An estimated 80 million patients in the United States suffer from OSA, where breathing is interrupted during sleep due to narrow or obstructed airways.

United Airlines is lowering its expectations for aircraft deliveries as it grapples with delays from Boeing Co. in the wake of the plane maker’s safety crisis. United expects to add 61 new narrow-body aircraft in 2024, far fewer than the 101 expected at the beginning of the year. The company also announced it would lease 35 aircraft from Boeing rival Airbus in 2026 and 2027. United Airlines on Tuesday reported an adjusted loss of 15 cents per share and said it expected second-quarter earnings to be between $3.75 and $4.25 per share. United shares rose about 5% in pre-market Wednesday.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Sarah Min, Lisa Kailai Han, Sam Meredith, Rebecca Picciotto, Annika Kim Constantino and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.

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