5 things to know before the stock market opens Monday, March 25

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

It will be a short trading week for the markets, which are closed on Good Friday. Heading into the last week of March, the major averages are on track for their fifth consecutive month of gains. The major U.S. stock indexes hit new all-time closing high levels last week, as the S&P 500 added roughly 2.3%, while the Dow climbed just under 2% for its best week since December, and came closer to the 40,000 level. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, added about 2.9% during the period. Looking ahead, investors will be watching for data from the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge the consumption expenditures price index, which will be released Friday morning. Follow live market updates.

The European Union is taking on American tech giants, opening an investigation on Monday into Apple, Alphabet and Meta. It’s the first such probe under the sweeping new Digital Markets Act tech legislation, which became enforceable earlier this month. Among other things, the EU is looking into Alphabet and Apple in relation to so-called “anti-steering rules,” which prohibit companies from blocking businesses that tell their users about cheaper options for their products or about subscriptions outside of an app store. Meta’s inquiry focuses on its ad-free subscription model for Facebook and Instagram in Europe, which the commission says may not provide a “real alternative” as a binary choice.

Former President Donald Trump‘s social media company, Truth Social, will go public. Shareholders in shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. voted Friday to approve a merger with Trump Media & Technology Group, the private firm that owns the Truth Social app platform, about 2½ years after the plans were originally announced. The deal could bring the former president an eventual windfall of $3 billion or more, since Trump holds a majority of shares in the new company. But shares of the special purpose acquisition company DWAC fell nearly 14% in Friday trading. After the stock plunge, Trump on Saturday told his many online followers, “I LOVE TRUTH SOCIAL.”

Biotech company Amgen wants in on the booming weight loss drug market — but it’s taking a different approach from its competitors. Amgen is trying out a monthly injection, unlike the weekly Wegovy and Zepbound, which have soared in popularity. Amgen’s treatment, called MariTide, also appears to help patients maintain their weight loss after they stop taking it. The drugmaker is also testing the drug (in early-stage trials) to be taken once a month or even less frequently, which could be an advantage over other medications on the market that are weekly.

Over the weekend, President Joe Biden signed a $1.2 trillion spending package, avoiding a government shutdown. The budget will keep the government funded until Oct. 1 and ends a monthslong saga in which Congress struggled to secure a permanent budget resolution and instead passed stopgap measures to avoid shutdowns. Hardline House Republicans weren’t happy with the deal, and in the hours after the bill passed the House, far-right Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

— CNBC’s Pia Singh, Arjun Kharpal, Dan Mangan, Annika Kim Constantino and Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.

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