5 things to know before the stock market opens

Ahead of a busy earnings week, investors are focused on U.S. President Joe Biden's announcement that he will withdraw from the 2024 presidential race and Vice President Kamala Harris' endorsement of the Democratic Party's candidacy; Delta Air Lines (DAL) continues to cancel flights as the carrier struggles to restore service after Friday's major technology outage; shares of Nvidia (NVDA) are higher in premarket trading after investors trimmed their stake in the year's top artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker last week; shares of CrowdStrike (CRWD) are lower, extending Friday's declines after the cybersecurity company's software update triggered the global computer outage; and China's central bank cut a short-term interest rate. U.S. stock futures are higher after major indexes ended sharply lower Friday. Here's what investors need to know today.

1. Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race, endorses Harris

President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. Some Democrats and donors had publicly and privately urged Biden to end his campaign after a troubling debate performance. A new candidate will change how voters assess the race, which so far has focused primarily on economic issues. Former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican nomination at its convention last week.

2. Delta continues to cancel flights after computer outage

Delta Air Lines (DAL) continues to feel the effects of Friday's major computer outage, even as its competitors restore service. On Sunday, Delta canceled 1,380 flights, or 36% of its schedule, and delayed 1,614, or 42%, according to data from FlightAware. As of 7:30 a.m. ET Monday, Delta had already canceled 626 flights, or 17% of its schedule, while rivals United Airlines (UAL) had canceled just 14 flights (0%) and American Airlines (AAL) had canceled 36 flights (1%). Delta CEO Ed Bastian apologized and offered affected passengers travel waivers and Delta SkyMiles.

3. Nvidia advances after falling last week

Shares of Nvidia (NVDA) are up 2% in premarket trading after falling nearly 9% last week as investors cut bets on some of the year’s best-performing artificial intelligence (AI) chipmakers amid growing concerns about tightening trade restrictions and geopolitical risks. Still, analysts remained largely bullish on the stock and AI in general, with analysts at Wedbush and Jefferies dismissing recent political rhetoric as “noise” in the chipmakers’ AI story and analysts at Bank of America saying recent volatility could present an “increased opportunity” to buy shares of companies like Nvidia.

4. Outage-Responsible CrowdStrike Extends Losses as Cybersecurity Competitors Continue to Gain

Shares of CrowdStrike (CRWD) fell about 4% in premarket trading, extending Friday’s 11% decline after a software update from the cybersecurity company caused an outage of Microsoft’s (MSFT) cloud services and disrupted businesses around the world. Meanwhile, shares of CrowdStrike competitors Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and SentinelOne (S), which rose Friday following the outage, continued their gains in premarket trading. SentinelOne shares are up about 4% and Palo Alto Networks shares are up 1%.

5. China cuts interest rates to boost economy

China cut its key interest rate in a bid to boost an economy that continues to suffer a sharp slowdown due to a prolonged housing slump, subdued consumer spending and trade tensions. The People’s Bank of China cut its short-term policy rate, and Chinese banks followed suit by cutting their benchmark five-year mortgage rate by 10 basis points, as well as their prime rate on one-year loans. The cuts come after last week’s biannual meeting to discuss reforms by President Xi Jinping and top Communist Party officials failed to produce significant measures to boost the economy. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.7 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, a weaker-than-expected figure.