- Stock futures rose ahead of December’s consumer price index report.
- The SEC sued Elon Musk over his 2022 purchase of Twitter.
- Six of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks are set to face questioning in Senate confirmation hearings.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Inflation watch
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Stock futures are higher Wednesday morning as all eyes turn to December's consumer price index report due at 8:30 a.m. ET. The key inflation reading follows Tuesday's lighter-than-expected producer price index report, which showed an increase of 0.2% in December. Both reports are expected to be factors in the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision later this month. Follow live market updates.
2. Banking beat
JPMorgan Chase kicked off two days of bank earnings Wednesday morning, topping revenue and profit expectations for the fourth quarter. The better-than-expected results come just a day after the bank announced that Daniel Pinto — its COO, President and longtime No. 2 to CEO Jamie Dimon — will step down in the coming months. Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are also reporting results Wednesday morning, followed by Bank of America and Morgan Stanley on Thursday.
3. What's X worth?
The SEC on Tuesday sued Elon Musk over his 2022 purchase of Twitter, alleging the Tesla CEO committed securities fraud by failing to disclose that he had amassed an active stake in the social media company. This secrecy allowed Musk to buy shares of Twitter — which he renamed X — at "artificially low prices," enabling him to underpay "by at least $150 million," according to the SEC's civil complaint.
4. An 'intense' year
Meta plans to cut about 5% of its workforce, specifically targeting its "lowest performers," CNBC confirmed on Tuesday. "This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams," CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in an internal memo. Meta is not the only big tech firm starting 2025 by slimming down its business. Microsoft plans to pause hiring in parts of its U.S. consulting business, CNBC reported Tuesday, just one week after Microsoft announced performance-based job cuts.
5. Confirmation
Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Defense, faced intense questioning on Tuesday at his confirmation hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee, where Democrats grilled him about his alleged sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse and mismanagement of nonprofits. Six more confirmation hearings are set to take place on Wednesday, including those for attorney general hopeful Pam Bondi, CIA pick John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio.
Money Report
— CNBC's Lisa Kailai Han, Jeff Cox, Hugh Son, Lora Kolodny, Ari Levy, Salvador Rodriguez, CJ Haddad, Jordan Novet and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.