U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 17, 2025. Doug Mills | Via Reuters
This is CNBC's Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Trump on defense
2. Return of the CPI
A shopper browses a holiday food display while shopping for groceries ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday at an Albertsons supermarket in Redmond, Washington, U.S., November 24, 2025. David Ryder | Reuters
The November consumer price index report, the first since the record government shutdown ended last month, is due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect it to show a 12-month inflation rate of 3.1%. When excluding food and energy, core CPI is forecast to post an annual rate of 3.0%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has said the release "will not include 1-month percent changes for November 2025 where the October 2025 data are missing," because the agency canceled the October inflation report in late November, weeks before the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the year.
3. Time for a rebound?
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 22, 2025. Spencer Platt | Getty Images
4. Healthy IPO market
CEO Jim Boyle celebrates with others as medical supplies giant Medline (MDLN) holds it's IPO at the Nasdaq stock market site in Times Square in New York, Dec. 17, 2025. Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
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