5 things to know before the stock market opens on Friday, July 5

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both hit new all-time highs Wednesday and closed at record highs. (Markets were paused Thursday for the July 4 holiday.) The broad-based index gained 0.51%, while the tech-heavy index climbed 0.88%, led by large-cap tech names such as Tesla and Nvidia. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the exception, shedding 23.85 points, or 0.06%, for the day. Trading volume was muted Wednesday as the New York Stock Exchange closed earlier than expected. Follow live market updates.

Friday’s jobs report is expected to show a slowdown in wage growth as concerns grow about the broader economy. Economists polled by Dow Jones predict that the June nonfarm payrolls report, due out at 8:30 a.m. ET, will show growth of 200,000. If confirmed, that would be down from the 272,000 reported for May. The projected pace of job growth is still solid, but investors and economists will be watching the unemployment rate, which is slowly rising. It climbed to 4% in May, the first time it has reached that level since January 2022, and forecasts call for it to remain there.

HBC, the parent company of Saks Fifth Avenue, announced it will acquire luxury retailer Neiman Marcus in a deal valued at $2.65 billion. The acquisition will create Saks Global, which will include Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, Neiman Marcus’ namesake department store chain and Bergdorf Goodman. Saks.com CEO Marc Metrick will become Saks Global’s chief executive officer as part of the deal, and HBC CEO Richard Baker will serve as the company’s executive chairman. The deal comes at a turbulent time for traditional retailers, which have struggled due to the rise of e-commerce.

At their June meeting, Federal Reserve officials indicated that inflation was moving in the right direction. But they reiterated that they were not prepared to lower interest rates from their current range until they had “greater confidence” that inflation was moving closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Minutes of the meeting, released Wednesday, showed some disagreement among the 19 central bankers who took part in the discussions, with some even indicating they might be inclined to raise rates. But they ultimately decided to keep rates at 5.25%-5.50%.

Some wealthy Democratic donors, including an heiress to the Disney family fortune, have said they will suspend their donations to the party until President Joe Biden withdraws from the presidential race. The uproar comes after Biden’s disastrous debate performance sparked concerns about his ability to win the race against former President Donald Trump. Abigail Disney, the granddaughter of Walt Disney Company co-founder Roy O. Disney, has been a funder of the party for years but told CNBC she is halting her contributions because “the stakes are way too high.” And she’s not alone. Gideon Stein, the president of the Moriah Fund, also said he was suspending $3.5 million in planned donations unless Biden withdraws. The president has said he has no plans to withdraw.

—CNBC’s Alex Harring, Jeff Cox and Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.

— Follow the broader market action like a pro on CNBC Pro.