5 things to know before the stock market opens Friday - CNBC

Here are the most important news, trends and analysis that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Dow set to bounce, helped by gains in J&J shares on split plans

Traders on the floor of the NYSE, October 28, 2012.

Source: NYSE

U.S. stock futures rose Friday, helped by premarket strength in Dow component Johnson & Johnson on plans to split into two companies. The U.S. bond market opened back up Friday after the Veterans Day holiday, with the 10-year Treasury yield flat, following this week's gains after hot inflation data. The government is out with its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 10 a.m. ET. JOLTS in September is expected to show employment vacancies dropping to 10.2 million after the prior month's 10.4 million, fueled by record quits. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 rebounded Thursday. But the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for a third straight session, pulled down by Disney's 7% decline on disappointing quarterly results. Dow stock Disney was modestly higher in Friday's premarket.

2. J&J to separate into two companies: Consumer products, medical

Johnson & Johnson logo

SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

J&J shares rose roughly 3% in the premarket after the health-care giant announced Friday it's splitting into two publicly traded companies: one focused on consumer products, such as Band-Aid bandages and baby powder, and the other focused on medical devices and pharmaceuticals, including its Covid vaccine. Johnson & Johnson was already undergoing a major transition, as CEO Alex Gorsky has previously announced that he will step down in January. Joaquin Duato, who was tapped as Gorsky's successor, will lead the new J&J following the separation of the consumer unit. The announcement is the second time this week that a major U.S. company has revealed intentions to split itself. General Electric on Tuesday said it plans to break up into three companies, focusing on aviation, health care and energy.

3. Rivian founder R.J. Scaringe now worth over $2 billion since IPO

RJ Scaringe, founder and chief executive officer of Rivian Automotive, speaks after unveiling the R1S electric sports utility vehicle (SUV).

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shares of Rivian Automotive rose nearly 4% in Friday's premarket, a move that would add to the newly public electric vehicle maker's two-day gain of 57%. Since Wednesday's debut, Rivian's market value has climbed to $105 billion and CEO R.J. Scaringe's stake in the company he founded in 2009 was valued at $2.2 billion. Rivian, which has Amazon and Ford as backers, pales in comparison to Tesla's more than $1 trillion market value. Elon Musk, worth more than $275 billion, took a shot at his rival Thursday, saying high production and break-even cash flow will be the true test for Rivian.

4. Singles Day, while muted by China's crackdowns, still saw record sales

Delivery workers sort parcels at a makeshift logistics station near the Central Business District (CBD) during Singles’ Day shopping festival in Beijing, China November 11, 2021.

Tingshu Wang | Reuters

Alibaba and JD.com racked up around $139 billion of sales across their platforms on China's Singles Day shopping event, setting a record. Singles Day used to just be a 24-hour affair, but it has transformed into a multiday extravaganza, ending at midnight on Nov. 11. The all-time high sales come despite worries about the strength of the Chinese consumer and the impact of Beijing's crackdown on technology companies. Singles Day was slightly more muted this year as Chinese tech companies continued to face scrutiny from regulators and Chinese President Xi Jinping's push for so-called common prosperity.

5. Chinese President Xi further solidifies leadership of No. 2 economy

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China CPC Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers an important speech at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2021.

Ju Peng | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

Xi took another step to solidify his hold on China, the world's second-largest economy, and to advance his vision for a strong Chinese Communist Party-dominated system. On Thursday, he joined the ranks of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping as the country's third leader to oversee a "historical resolution" at the close of the widely watched meeting of the CCP. Party officials called Xi a "helmsman" and a "people's leader" on Friday, in a show of support for his continuing leadership. Those terms were descriptions used more than 50 years ago during the cult of personality surrounding Mao. Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden are expected to hold a virtual meeting Monday.

— Reuters contributed to this report. Follow all the market action like a pro on CNBC Pro. Get the latest on the pandemic with CNBC's coronavirus coverage.

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