• The Labor Department will release its latest reading on the consumer price index this morning.
• Oracle shares soared about 13% in pre-market trading after reporting earnings Monday.
• Former President Donald Trump told CNBC Monday he's likely to raise tariffs on goods entering the United States.

Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:

1. Cooling off

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite continued to fall Monday as the rally bringing the averages to record highs cooled off. The Nasdaq Composite sank 0.41% and the S&P500 dropped 0.11%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the trend and rose 0.12%. It was a tough day for some tech stocks as investors question if companies tied to artificial intelligence have more room to grow after recent rallies. Information technology stock Super Micro Computer fell more than 5% while chipmaker Nvidia slid 2%. Facebook parent Meta tumbled about 4%. Follow live market updates here.

2. The nation's inflation

The Labor Department will release its February consumer price index reading at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect that prices across a broad array of goods and services rose 0.4% on the month, slightly above the 0.3% pace seen in January. The increase for core inflation, excluding food and energy, is expected to increase 0.3%, also one-tenth of a percentage point above January's reading. On a year-over-year basis, economists forecast headline inflation will show a 3.1% gain and core inflation will rise 3.7%. While inflation has fallen from its peak in 2022, its resilience is likely to ensure no Fed rate cuts at its March 19 to 20 meeting and possibly into the summer.

3. Moving higher

Oracle shares soared about 13% in premarket training after the software giant reported an earnings beat Monday. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.41 compared with the expected earnings of $1.38 a share. Revenue came in at $13.28 billion, just short of the $13.3 billion estimate. Sales for Oracle's cloud services and license support segment, its largest business, slightly beat estimates and saw a 12% increase in revenue compared with the same quarter a year ago. CEO Safra Catz said Oracle was committed to hitting prior goals of $65 billion in sales by fiscal year 2026.

4. Boeing's Problems

The Federal Aviation Administration found "dozens of problems" at facilities owned by Boeing and a key supplier after a six-week audit of the 737 Max jet's production, according to The New York Times. The FAA started the probe after a door panel blew off an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 flight in January. FAA auditors found that Boing passed 56 tests and failed 33 of the product audits. The FAA probe also focused on Spirit AeroSystems, which makes fuselages for the Boeing 737 Max planes. Seven of Spirit's audits resulted in failing grades, and just six passed, NYT said.

5. Tough on tariffs

Former President Donald Trump indicated in a CNBC interview Monday he's likely to raise tariffs on foreign goods entering the U.S. if elected for a second term in November. "I fully believe in them economically when you're being taken advantage of by other countries," Trump said of tariffs. "Beyond the economics, it gives you power in dealing with other countries." During his administration, Trump instituted several tariffs, including 25% duties on imported steel. Many of the tariffs Trump placed on China are still in place under President Joe Biden.

— CNBC's Alex Harring, Sarah Min, Kif Leswing, Jeff Cox and Dylan Butts contributed to this report.

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