5 things to know before the stock market opens on Monday, July 21

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

Earnings season is kicking into high gear this week, with about one in five S&P 500-listed companies expected to report. Domino’s Pizza gets the earnings party started before the bell on Monday, followed by a variety of well-known names later in the week including General Motors, Tesla, American Airlines and Chipotle. It’s looking good so far this season: Of the more than 11% of S&P 500 companies that have already reported, more than 86% have exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, according to market data provider FactSet. CNBC Pro subscribers have access to a full list of key companies reporting earnings next week. The question facing investors now is if a strong season can be enough to keep stocks trading near all-time highs. Follow live market updates.

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump disputed a Wall Street Journal report that said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent advocated against firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump, who is suing the publication over a story that said the president sent a “bawdy” birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein, called the report involving Bessent and Powell “typically untruthful” in a social media post. This marks the latest chapter in the public and escalating saga between the White House and the central bank chief. For weeks, Trump’s disciples have ratcheted up attacks on Powell as the Fed holds interest rates steady amid uncertainty tied to the president’s contentious tariff plan.

Speaking of tariffs, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday reaffirmed the Aug. 1 deadline set by the White House in its plan for broad and steep levies. (For those who keep their calendars up-to-date, that’s next Friday.) Lutnick told CBS News that the U.S. would start expecting payments tied to the tariffs on that date and that it was a “hard deadline,” but he noted that countries can continue negotiating beyond the deadline. However, U.S. trading partners may be wondering if the commerce chief’s statement is more bark than bite — especially after previously set deadlines were pushed back.

Alaska Airlines resumed operations early Monday morning after grounding all of its flights for around three hours because of an IT outage. The company did not immediately share specifics on the type of outage, according to Reuters. Just last month, Alaska-owned Hawaiian Airlines faced a hack to some of its IT systems. Tech companies are taking notice and have raised alarm on hackers showing particular interest in the aviation sector. In other cyber news, Microsoft on Saturday reported “active attacks” on its servers used by government agencies and businesses.

Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, who captured the internet’s fascination after being caught on camera during a Coldplay concert embracing his company’s human resources chief, has resigned. If you need to go back to the start (pun intended): A clip went viral showing Byron ducking out of view after being filmed in an intimate position with Kristin Cabot, Astronomer’s chief people officer. If it wasn’t awkward enough, lead singer Chris Martin says in the now-famous clip that “either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” Byron’s departure comes after the company, which was little-known prior to the viral video, said on Friday that it was launching a formal investigation into the incident.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min, Robert Hum, Yeo Boon Ping, Erin Doherty, Dan Mangan, Jeff Cox, Lim Hui Jie, Jennifer Elias and Ari Levy, as well as Reuters, contributed to this report.