5 things to know before the stock market opens Wednesday, February 15

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

We’ve hit the midpoint of a murky week for stocks. The Dow and the S&P 500 slipped Tuesday after the government’s consumer price index for January showed hotter-than-expected inflation. The Nasdaq, however, finished the session in the green. Even though the inflation print came in higher than economists’ estimates, Wall Street seemed to take it in stride as it still showed the pace of price increases slowing down. Wednesday brings more data, including indicators from the housing market, as well as another handful of corporate earnings reports, including Kraft Heinz before the open and Cisco after the bell. Follow live markets updates.

In a rare moment of accord between the Biden administration and Elon Musk’s electric vehicle empire, Tesla agreed to open up thousands of its charging stations to EVs made by other companies, according to the White House. Tesla and other companies that build and operate charging networks are also in line to win federal funding if their charging infrastructure lives up to government standards. Tesla agreed to make at least 7,500 chargers in the U.S. available for any compatible EV by the end of next year. That includes 3,500 of the company’s Superchargers that are located on major highways in addition to slower Level 2 destination chargers that Tesla provides at restaurants and hotels, among other locations.

It’s not all good news in the world of EV batteries, though. Ford halted production and shipments of its flagship F-150 Lightning pickup over a possible issue with its batteries. The company did not disclose too many details about the potential problem, which came to light during pre-delivery quality inspections. It’s the latest difficulty facing Ford. Earlier this month, the company posted ugly fourth-quarter results and a net loss for 2022, as it copped to execution problems. Ford is looking to cut costs this year as it seeks a turnaround with EV competition heating up.

Goldman Sachs is giving up on plans for a branded credit card, CNBC’s Hugh Son reported Tuesday, as the Wall Street powerhouse continues to dismantle its consumer-banking strategy. Goldman CEO David Solomon has been moving away from his previous intention to turn the company into a bank for the people since losses started to pile up and consumers started facing inflation and other economic headwinds. Goldman in October split its retail operations. Later, the company said it would close its Marcus personal loans business and give up on offering a checking account to a broad customer base. With all of this happening, it just didn’t make sense to launch a consumer credit card anymore.

If you want a fresh example of just how sensitive the economy is to shifts in interest rates, look no further than Wednesday’s mortgage demand report. Total mortgage application volume fell 7.7% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as the popular 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.39% from 6.18%. Refinance applications fell 13% week over week, while applications to purchase a home were down 6%. “Mortgage rates increased across the board last week, pushed higher by market expectations that inflation will persist, thus requiring the Federal Reserve to keep monetary policy restrictive for a longer time,” said Joel Kan, a top economist for the MBA.

– CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Lora Kolodny, John Rosevear, Michael Wayland, Hugh Son and Diana Olick contributed to this report.

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