• Walgreens is reportedly in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners.
• General Motors said it will no longer fund its Cruise division's robotaxi development.
• Alaska Air Group said it expects to grow profits by $1 billion through 2027 and announced new international routes.

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

1. Eyes on CPI

Stock futures remained near the flatline Wednesday as investors anticipated November's consumer price index report — one of the last two major economic data releases before the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.16%. while S&P 500 futures climbed 0.08% and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%. Follow live market updates.

2. Insurance stocks fall

Major insurance stocks including UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health and Cigna have fallen more than 6% since their closing prices last Tuesday — the day before the deadly shooting of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealth's insurance arm. The companies' poor performances appear to be in response to the "renewed rhetoric" condemning insurers' business models, according to Jared Holz, Mizuho's health-care equity strategist. Holz added, however, that the negative stock reaction will likely be "fairly short-lived," and he doesn't expect insurers to make material policy changes in response to the shooting.

3. Walgreens in PE talks

Shares of Walgreens jumped nearly 20% on Tuesday on a report that the company is in talks to sell itself to private equity firm Sycamore Partners. The Wall Street Journal reported Walgreens and Sycamore have been discussing a deal that could be completed early next year. The retail drugstore has underperformed Wall Street's earnings expectations for two straight quarters. Walgreens said in October that it plans to close roughly 1,200 of its drugstores over the next three years, including 500 in fiscal 2025 alone.

4. Left in the dust

General Motors on Tuesday said it will no longer fund its Cruise division's robotaxi development. After spending more than $10 billion on the unit since acquiring Cruise in 2016, the Detroit automaker said it will instead fold the unit into its broader tech team. GM said the increasingly competitive robotaxi market, capital allocation priorities, and the considerable time and resources necessary to grow the business were behind its decision. Shares of the automaker rose 2.3% in extended trading.

5. Alaska going global

Alaska Air Group's shares rose 13% Tuesday as the airline said it expects to grow profits by $1 billion through 2027. Less than three months since its $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska is also preparing to take on larger rivals like Delta Air Lines by expanding international routes. The airline announced on Tuesday the launch of nonstop service between its home hub of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Tokyo's Narita International Airport in May, and between Seattle and Seoul's Incheon International Airport in South Korea next October.

— CNBC's Alex Harring, Annika Kim Constantino, Kevin Breuninger, Lora Kolodny, Michael Wayland and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.