The Dow's losing streak, fertilizer prices, Novo Nordisk's new Wegovy shot and more in Morning Squawk

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Happy Friday. In a tale of two viral hotspots, Polymarket is planning a pop-up bar in Washington, D.C., while a New York City pharmacy is seeing a surge after its feature in FX’s “Love Story.”

Stock futures are down this morning after another losing day on Wall Street.

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

1. Dow in the dumps

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026.

Ronen Zvulun | Reuters

Investors got a spark of optimism yesterday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was helping the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Still, Wall Street is wrapping up a chaotic week across asset classes.

Here’s what to know:

• The three major indexes ended yesterday’s session in the red, but well off session lows following Netanyahu’s comments.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is poised to record its fourth straight down week, a first for the blue-chip index since 2023.
• Gold is on track for its worst week since 2020, while silver is on pace for its third straight losing week.
• Copper fell to its lowest level of the year yesterday, a worrying sign given how Wall Street typically views a decline in its price as a sign of cooling economic growth.
• Oil was in for more volatile trading: Brent crude briefly topped $119 a barrel yesterday before closing at $108.65, a 1.18% gain. Oil prices are still rising this morning.
• Follow live market updates here.

2. Holding the line

U.S. President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell talk to reporters while touring the Federal Reserve’s $2.5 billion headquarters renovation project on July 24, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty Images

President Donald Trump indicated yesterday that the Justice Department should continue its investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, even after a judge last week blocked subpoenas issued as part of the probe. “All I want to do is bring out to the public that this guy is incompetent, he’s a very incompetent guy, and he may be a dishonest guy,” Trump said.

But as CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger notes, the probe’s continuation could make it harder for Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to succeed Powell, to be confirmed. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., has pledged to not approve any Fed nominees until the investigation is resolved.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has indicated that it could release decisions today, meaning there’s a chance we’ll get its ruling on Trump’s effort to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

3. Supply chain snafus

Garrett Mauch spreads manure as fertilizer on fields at his family’s farm in Lamar, Colorado, on January 21, 2026.

RJ Sangosti | The Denver Post Via Getty Images | Denver Post | Getty Images

It’s not just oil. The U.S.-Iran war is threatening the global supply of helium, a key component in semiconductor manufacturing.

Before the war, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that Qatar produced more than a third of the world’s helium. But operations at a QatarEnergy facility that produces the gas as a byproduct have been halted after it was struck by an Iran drone.

Meanwhile, fertilizer prices are soaring due to the transit breakdown in the Strait of Hormuz. As CNBC’s Garrett Downs notes, the price spike could give Democrats an affordability pitch in agriculture-focused states heading into the U.S. midterm elections.

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4. More on the horizon

Pavlo Gonchar| SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Meta walked back its decision to shutter Horizon Worlds yesterday after fans of the virtual reality platform spoke out.

Tech chief Andrew Bosworth said that Meta decided to keep Horizon Worlds working for existing games “to support the fans who’ve reached out.” Earlier this week, the tech firm announced that it would fully remove the platform from its Quest VR headsets in June.

As CNBC’s Lola Murti notes, Horizon Worlds’ popularity pales in comparison to that of its competitors. CNBC previously reported that the platform never saw more than a few hundred thousand monthly users, while Roblox has regularly seen more than 100 million daily active users.

5. Novo’s next shot

Wegovy injection pens arranged in Waterbury, Vermont, US, on Monday, April 28, 2025.

Shelby Knowles | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A higher-dose weight loss drug could be hitting the market soon.

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday approved a stronger version of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. A phase three trial showed that patients with obesity lost an average of more than 20% of their weight after 72 weeks, compared to around 15% weight loss with the standard dosage in clinical trials.

As CNBC’s Annika Kim Constantino reports, the new version — which is expected to launch next month — comes as Novo attempts to regain market share from rival Eli Lilly.

The Daily Dividend

Here are some of the stories you may have missed this week:

• Nissan joins Toyota, Honda in plans to export U.S. cars to Japan
• Microsoft shakes up Copilot AI leadership team, freeing up Suleyman to build new models
• Tim Cook squashes retirement rumors, says he ‘can’t imagine life without Apple’
• Durbin and Raskin call for perjury investigation into DHS’ Kristi Noem
• U.S. tech execs smuggled Nvidia chips to China, prosecutors say
• Uber to invest up to $1.25 billion in EV maker Rivian in deal to launch 50,000 robotaxis

—_ CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Chloe Taylor, Kevin Breuninger, Lisa Kailai Han, Garrett Downs, Lola Murti and Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition._

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