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This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.
Happy Thursday. Valentine’s Day is still six months away, but as CNBC’s Kai Nicol-Schwarz reports, Nvidia is already playing matchmaker.
Stock futures are lower this morning after a positive session for all three major indexes.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Indebted
Scott Bessent, US treasury secretary, during the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, June 26, 2026. Daniel Heuer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield plunged more than 10 basis points after the Treasury Department announced yesterday that it would take the unusual step of at least doubling the size of its government debt repurchases.
Here’s what to know:
- As CNBC’s Steve Liesman and Matt Peterson write, the Treasury’s efforts to soothe bond traders could result in inflationary flare-ups, which would be bad news for the Federal Reserve.
- Already, the Fed said in minutes from its last meeting released yesterday that its members felt rate hikes could be necessary if inflation didn’t show signs of cooling.
- President Donald Trump continued to criticize the central bank yesterday, saying that Chairman Kevin Warsh is doing “great job” but “the problem is he has a board, and it’s a political board.”
- Asked whether Americans should be concerned about the bond market, Trump responded, “No, I don’t think so.”
- Meanwhile, the Treasury announced yesterday that the U.S. debt level crossed the $40 trillion mark. That’s more than double where it stood 10 years ago.
- Bond yields are rising again this morning, while stock futures slip before the bell. Follow live market updates here.
2. Cash back
A shopping cart sits in the parking lot of a Walmart store on May 13, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson | Getty Images
Walmart beat analysts’ quarterly revenue expectations and hiked its forecast for the full year this morning. But that didn’t appear to satisfy investors: Shares of the retailer are down 6% before the bell.
A 23% jump in global e-commerce sales boosted the retailer’s second-quarter results, as well as a multibillion-dollar tariff refund. CFO John David Rainey told CNBC that the company is less than $100 million away from receiving the $2.9 billion tariff refund for which it was eligible. Walmart will use the repayment to lower its prices, he said.
Hear more from Rainey when he joins CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” at 10 a.m. ET. Watch live on CNBC or CNBC+.
3. Save the date
Sarah Friar, Chief Financial Officer of OpenAI, speaks during the Reuters NEXT conference, in New York City, U.S., Dec. 10, 2024. Mike Segar | Reuters
OpenAI is expecting to be on the public market soon. CFO Sarah Friar told employees yesterday that the artificial intelligence startup would be publicly traded by next year — if not earlier.
As CNBC’s Kate Rooney and Ashley Capoot report, Friar said at an all-hands meeting that OpenAI “will be a public company in 2027.” She said the debut could come earlier than that if “our business continues to inflect.”
Friar in the meeting called an IPO “another fundraise” rather than a “finish line,” according to two sources familiar with the comments. She said OpenAI’s $122 billion funding round in March provides “flexibility” for the company, which filed an IPO prospectus in June.
4. Costs to bear
A sign displays the price for gasoline and diesel fuel at a Chevron gas station in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, July 21, 2026.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bad news for California’s truckers: Diesel prices in the Golden State just hit $7 a gallon again. That marks a 37% increase from the same time last year, as the Iran war hampers oil supply.
Diesel prices are still down from records set in April. But as CNBC’s Spencer Kimball notes, costs are back on the rise as farmers prepare for their harvest season and as freight traffic ramps up into the all-important holiday shopping period.
Oil prices are rising this morning after Trump said last night that the U.S. would launch “Economic Warface” against Iran. Crude price are on track for their second straight positive weeks.
5. Boise’s AI boom
Micron’s Boise campus.Photo: Lucas Mullikin
The AI boom has been both good news and bad news for Micron’s hometown of Boise, Idaho.
As CNBC’s CJ Haddad and Katie Tarasov report, the computer memory maker’s investments have led to more jobs, population growth and new construction projects in the city. The more than tenfold increase in Micron’s stock since the end of 2024 has also created a new class of millionaires in the area.
But as the company sets out on a $50 billion buildout plan, there’s also been an increase in traffic and surging housing costs which threaten to price out lower-income residents.
The Daily Dividend
Moderna‘s stock ended yesterday’s session nearly 180% higher after its cancer vaccine with Merck showed promise in a late-stage trial. Here’s what it’s climb looked like:
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— CNBC’s Kai Nicol-Schwarz, Jeff Cox, Steve Liesman, Matt Peterson, Sean Conlon, Fred Imbert, Laya Neelakandan, Ashley Capoot, Kate Rooney, Spencer Kimball, Hugh Leask, Anniek Bao, Chloe Taylor, CJ Haddad, Katie Tarasov and Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this report.
Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.
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