5 things to know before the stock market opens Thursday

Happy Thursday. Fans of Starbucks‘ Refreshers are in luck: The coffee chain will start testing sparkling versions called “spritzers” in select markets.

Stock futures are higher this morning. The market is coming off a down day yesterday.

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

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady yesterday, but there was a notable amount of dissent. Already, investors are wondering whether the meeting’s outcome points to a rate increase at the central bank’s next gathering in September.

Here’s what to know:

Shares of Meta Platforms are 10% lower before the bell after the Facebook parent missed Wall Street’s earnings estimates and gave a weaker-than-expected revenue forecast for the current quarter. The company also reported a drastically shrinking free cash flow as it spends big on artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Megacap tech peer Microsoft, on the other hand, fared much better after reporting its quarterly results. Shares are more than 9% higher after the company beat analysts’ revenue expectations and said it is increasing capital spending, citing demand.

Up next: Apple and Amazon, which report earnings after the bell.

Tehran threatened fresh retaliation this morning after the U.S. attacked dozens of Iranian military targets. U.S. Central Command called its Wednesday-night strikes a “powerful response” to Iran’s attempted attack on American forces in the Middle East.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reportedly warned that countries assisting Washington would also “receive a harsh response” and maintained it is in “full control” of the Strait of Hormuz, where tanker traffic has largely halted. Oil prices are lower this morning after Brent crude futures surged nearly 8% yesterday.

Chipotle raised its same-store sales forecast for the full year yesterday after the chain beat analysts’ second-quarter expectations on both lines.

Shares of the company jumped 6% after the report, but it wasn’t all positive: Chipotle warned that it saw a drop in sales this month due to concerns around the cyclospora outbreak, which has been tied to fresh lettuce. Executives said that its lettuce is not impacted by the outbreak.

Meanwhile, Taco Bell parent Yum Brands was conspicuously silent on the cyclospora outbreak in its earnings report this morning, putting the spotlight on the company’s earnings conference call. Same-store sales at the Mexican-inspired chain — one of Yum’s top performers — rose 7% in the quarter, which ended before the outbreak.

The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed its vote on whether to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general as two Republican senators said they still have concerns about the Justice Department’s settlement of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS.

Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis are both withholding their support for Blanche, who oversaw the settlement as acting attorney general. A “no” vote from either senator could prevent Blanche’s nomination from proceeding to the full Senate. Cornyn called off a meeting with Blanche earlier on Wednesday, saying he felt the Justice Department hadn’t mitigated his concerns about the controversial deal.

The holdup for Blanche came a day after the Senate confirmed Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence. Clayton succeeds Bill Pulte, whose interim tenure brought multiple rounds of layoffs of high-ranking officials.

In an internal meeting yesterday, OpenAI board chair Bret Taylor discussed how the startup’s Codex tool is making up ground in the AI coding market. Here’s what Taylor said, according to a partial transcript shared with CNBC:

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Darla Mercado, Sarah Min, Yun Li, Sarah Min, Davis Giangiulio, Anniek Bao, Joseph Wilkins, Jonathan Vanian, Jordan Novet, Amelia Lucas, Laya Neelakandan, Dan Mangan, Justin Papp, Ashley Capoot and Kate Rooney contributed to this report.

Luke Fountain assisted in the production of this newsletter. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.