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

Here are the top stories investors need to start their trading day:

Stocks rebounded on Wednesday. All three major indices finished higher, thanks in large part to tech names like Amazon and Meta. In fact, the high-tech Nasdaq is headed for its best quarter since the final three months of 2020. Thursday’s futures also looked rosy, as investors waited to hear three Fed speakers in the afternoon: Boston Suzanne Collins, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Minneapolis Fed President Neil Kashkari. Follow live market updates.

The senators had the opportunity to take on the nation’s top bank regulators to deal with the collapse of the Silicon Valley bank earlier this week. It was the turn of the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle bombarded Fed Vice Chairman Michael Barr, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg, and Chief Treasury Officer Nellie Liang with tough questions and demands for transparency. Rep. Patrick McHenry, the North Carolina Republican who chairs the committee, noted that there were no publicly available notes from regulators’ meetings over the SVB weekend and the signature bank failed. “The lack of transparency has a negative impact on the overall view of the health of the financial arena,” he said.

Apple has given everyone the information they have been waiting for. The tech giant’s Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from June 5 to June 9, where CEO Tim Cook kicks it all off. Typically, Apple will use the event to unveil new iPhones, iPads, and software. This year could be different, 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-performance Macs to the developer-heavy crowd at the conference.

Russian authorities have arrested American journalist Ivan Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, on suspicion of espionage. The newspaper responded by forcefully rejecting the justification for Gershkovitch’s arrest. “The Wall Street Journal strongly denies the FSB allegations and is seeking the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Ivan Gershkovich,” the newspaper said in a statement. “We stand in solidarity with Ivan and his family.” Russia is notorious for its harsh treatment of the press. The nonprofit group Reporters Without Borders lists Russia as One of the worst countries to the independent press, saying it has only gotten worse since the nation’s forces invaded Ukraine. Follow live war updates.

A new Major League Baseball season is set to start. The recent World Series champions, the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, are slated to roll early Thursday afternoon, while superstar quarterback Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees take on the San Francisco Giants. (By the way, the Yankees’ YES network just launched its own streaming app.) The defending World Series champion, the Houston Astros, are set to start their season at home against the Chicago White Sox. There’s also a lot of hype surrounding the New York Mets, which cruised into the playoffs last year after a 101-win regular season — despite a payroll funded by majority owner and 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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