• The U.S. and UK are set to sign a trade deal.
• The Fed held rates steady, as expected.
• Used car prices are trending higher.

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

1. Chop chop

The S&P 500 ended the day with a slight 0.43% gain after choppy trading. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, rose 0.27%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 284.97 points, or 0.70%, thanks to a nearly 11% jump in Disney shares. The entertainment company saw its stock soar after it reported earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations and a surprise increase in streaming subscribers. But the market was dragged down by Alphabet and Apple which dropped about 7% and 1%, respectively. Stock futures rose Thursday as President Donald Trump said the U.S. and United Kingdom are set to sign a trade deal. Follow live market updates.

2. Fed head

The Federal Reserve held its key interest rate steady, as expected, in a range between 4.25%-4.5%. It's been at that mark since December. The central bank is facing increasingly uncertainty with President Donald Trump's tariff policy, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell ruled out the idea of cutting rates preemptively, noting that inflation is still running above target. "The economy has been resilient. It's doing fairly well. Our policy is well positioned. The costs of waiting to see further are fairly low," Powell said. "I can't tell you how long it will take, but for now, it does seem like it's a fairly clear decision for us to wait and see and watch."

3. AI strikes

CrowdStrike said it plans to lay off 500 people, or about 5% of its workforce. The company, which makes cybersecurity software, largely cited advances in artificial intelligence as the reason for the layoffs. "AI has always been foundational to how we operate," CEO George Kurtz wrote in a memo. "AI flattens our hiring curve, and helps us innovate from idea to product faster. It streamlines go-to-market, improves customer outcomes, and drives efficiencies across both the front and back office." Meanwhile, Alphabet shares sank Wednesday after Apple services chief Eddy Cue reportedly said he thinks AI search engines will someday replace standard search engines like Google.

4. Switching it up

Nintendo expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles in the fiscal year ending March 2026. It's the first forecast the Japanese company has released since it announced the new hardware was due to go on sale in June. The Switch 2, which has improved features over its predecessor, will start at $449.99 in the U.S., but investors will be watching if tariffs affect the company. Nintendo's forecast is based on U.S. tariff rates effective as of April 10, after Trump paused the reciprocal levies he had announced for many countries.

5. Used up

A closely watched index that tracks used vehicle pricing hit its highest level since October 2023 as consumers worried about tariffs rushed to buy cars. Cox Automotive's Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index is up 4.9% from the same period a year ago and up 2.7% from March. The index typically only moves 0.2% from month to month, according to Cox. The tariffs are on new imported vehicles and many auto parts, but changes in pricing on new cars also affect the used car market, which is significant because most Americans buy used vehicles.

— CNBC's Pia Singh, Jeff Cox, Darla Mercado, Sean Conlon, Jordan Novet, Kif Leswing, Arjun Kharpal and Michael Wayland contributed to this report.