5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday, March 31

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

Stocks bounced back Wednesday. All three major indices finished higher, thanks in large part to tech names such as Amazon and Meta. Indeed, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is headed for its best quarter since the final three months of 2020. Thursday’s futures looked rosy, as well, as investors waited to hear from three Fed speakers in the afternoon: Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari. Follow live markets updates.

Senators had their chance to take the nation’s top bank regulators to task over the meltdown of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this week. It was the House Financial Services Committee’s turn Wednesday. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle peppered Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Michael Barr, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg and top Treasury official Nellie Liang with tough questions and demands for transparency. Rep. Patrick McHenry, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the committee, pointed out there were no publicly available notes from regulators’ meetings during the weekend SVB and Signature Bank failed. “That lack of transparency has a negative effect on the public view of the safety of the financial arena,” he said.

Apple just gave everyone the big heads-up they were waiting for. The tech giant’s Worldwide Developers Conference is set for June 5 to June 9, with CEO Tim Cook kicking everything off. Usually, Apple will use the event to unveil new iPhones, iPads and software. This year could be different, though, as the company is widely expected to unveil an augmented reality headset. And, as CNBC’s Kif Leswing points out, Apple may take the opportunity to show off new, high-powered Macs to the developer-heavy audience at the conference.

Russian authorities detained U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, on suspicion of espionage. The Journal fired back and forcefully rejected the rationale for Gershkovich’s detention. “The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family,” the newspaper said in a statement. Russia is notorious for its harsh treatment of the press. Nonprofit advocacy group Reporters Without Frontiers lists Russia as one of the worst countries for independent journalism, saying it’s gotten even worse since the nation’s forces invaded Ukraine. Follow live war updates.

A new Major League Baseball season is set to begin. Recent World Series champs the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals are slated to get things rolling early Thursday afternoon, while superstar slugger Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees square off with the San Francisco Giants. (Incidentally, the Yankees’ YES Network just launched its own streaming app.) The defending World Series champions, the Houston Astros, are scheduled to begin their season at home against the Chicago White Sox. There’s also a lot of hype surrounding the New York Mets, who flamed out in the playoffs last year after a 101-win regular season – despite an elephantine payroll funded by majority owner and Wall Street billionaire Steve Cohen.

– CNBC’s Alex Harring, Christina Wilkie, Chelsey Cox, Kif Leswing, Holly Ellyatt and Alex Sherman contributed to this report.

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