CNBC Daily Open: U.S. CEOs turn positive on the economy

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe  here .

Nikkei fresh highs
Japan's Nikkei hit new highs on Friday, while most markets in the region were either fully or partially closed for Lunar New Year holidays. The Nikkei 225 crossed the 37,000 mark for the first time in 34 years,while the Topix was flat. Overnight, the S&P 500 hit the 5,000 level for the first time but closed just under the milestone. The blue-chip Dow also rose, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.24% as robust earnings have rallied the market in recent sessions.

Google renames Bard
Google rebranded Bard, its artificial intelligence chatbot and assistant to Gemini, the same name as the suite of AI models that power it. The changes are a first step to "building a true AI assistant," said Sissie Hsiao, a vice president at Google and general manager for Google Assistant and Bard.

Japan's zombie problems
Despite strong performance since the beginning of 2023, Japan's stock market faces several issues over zombie firms. This comes as the Bank of Japan is widely expected to raise interest rates this year — for the first time since 2007.

Biden pushes back
U.S. President Joe Biden in a White House address said his "memory is fine," and disputed a special counsel's claims that he willfully retained classified material at his Delaware home. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump won the Nevada Republican caucus, based on NBC News projections.

[Pro] Bypassing the Magnificent 7
Morningstar's chief markets strategist David Sekera highlighted that the Magnificent Seven stocks "are