Stocks were slightly lower Thursday morning as the equities market gave back some of the previous session's big gains.

On a "core" basis, which strips out the more volatile costs of food and gas, prices in November are expected to have risen 3.3% over last year for the fourth consecutive month. Economists expect monthly core price increases to also match the prior month's reading of 0.3%, according to Bloomberg data.

The Nasdaq is closing in on the 20,000 level but is starting to get extended. Four tech titans are flashing buy signals.