• U.S. President Joe Biden has decided to block Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion takeover bid of U.S. Steel, according to a Washington Post report.
• Shares of Tesla fell on Thursday after the automaker reported its first drop in annual delivery numbers.
• Cryptocurrencies rose to start the year, rebounding from recent losses as investors anticipate a banner 2025 for the industry.

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

1. A rocky start

U.S. stock futures rose slightly Friday after a choppy trading session kicked off the new year. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 79 points, or 0.19%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 futures increased 0.25% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.34%. Follow live market updates.

2. The steel's all melted

U.S. President Joe Biden has decided to block Nippon Steel's $14.9 billion takeover bid of U.S. Steel, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing two unnamed administrative officials. The White House is expected to announce Biden's decision as soon as Friday, according to the Washington Post. The decision was referred to Biden on Dec. 23 after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States failed to reach a consensus. The CFIUS was concerned that Nippon Steel could cut the production capacity of U.S. Steel following the acquisition, which would pose a risk to U.S. national security.

3. Tesla deliveries drop

Shares of Tesla fell on Thursday after the automaker reported its first drop in annual delivery numbers. The company's fourth-quarter vehicle production and deliveries report said deliveries dropped to 1,789,226 in 2024 compared with 1.81 million in 2023. Deliveries are the closest approximation of sales reported by Tesla but are not precisely defined in the company's shareholder communications. Tesla shares were down more than 6% following the report on Thursday.

4. A year for coins

Cryptocurrencies rose to start the year, rebounding from recent losses as investors anticipate a banner 2025 for the industry. The price of bitcoin rose 3% to $97,234.80 Thursday, bringing its new year gain to nearly 4% when counting trading from the Jan. 1 session. Despite a record postelection rally that sent bitcoin above $100,000, crypto assets slid at the year's end. But investors are optimistic that President-elect Donald Trump will follow through on his promises to create a more favorable regulatory environment for the industry once he's in office. They also hope Congress will pass its first-ever crypto-focused legislation to help structure the market.

5. A Meta shakeup

Facebook parent Meta is shaking up the composition of its policy team three weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. Nick Clegg, a former British deputy prime minister who has been the company's global head of policy since 2018, is stepping down. He will be replaced by current policy vice president and former Republican staffer Joel Kaplan, who previously worked under former President George W. Bush. In December, he appeared at the New York Stock Exchange with Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. The shakeup is the latest sign of how tech companies are positioning themselves for a new administration in Washington.

— CNBC's Yeo Boon Ping, Lora Kolodny, Tanaya Macheel and Kif Leswig contributed to this report.