• Home Depot reported earnings.
• Stellantis offered buyouts to thousands of white-collar employees.
• The Supreme Court adopted a code of ethics.

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

1. Mixed start

Stock markets responded to Moody's warning about the U.S. credit outlook with a resounding "meh" on Monday. The three major indices posted mixed results. The Dow barely finished in positive territory, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were slightly lower. Tuesday should mean more action, with Home Depot earnings giving investors a first taste of retail results heading into the holidays and the consumer price index providing the latest update on inflation. Follow live market updates.

2. Home Depot earnings

Home Depot on Tuesday posted quarterly results that topped Wall Street's expectations, even as sales fell during the period. The home improvement chain's results come as retailers begin to roll out their last earnings reports before the holiday shopping season kicks into gear. Home Depot's outlook for the year remains soft, as it still expects profit and sales to slide during what the company's CFO called this "period of moderation in home improvement."

3. More Amazon layoffs

Amazon, which has already cut about 27,000 jobs since last fall, trimmed several more Monday. The e-commerce and tech giant said it's reducing headcount in its Amazon Games division by more than 180 as it tightens its focus on Prime Gaming. It's also shutting down its Crown channel, which streams on Twitch, as well as its Game Growth initiative, which helped game producers market their offerings. The business is now turning its attention to a few high-profile projects, including upcoming "Tomb Raider" and "Lord of the Rings" releases, which are rooted in the same intellectual property as two big Prime Video streaming TV series.

4. Stellantis offers buyouts

Chrysler owner Stellantis, fresh off its deal to end the United Auto Workers' strike, is looking to trim costs in its U.S. operations. The company said Monday it would offer voluntary buyouts to about 6,400 white-collar workers with more than five years of experience, citing "challenging market conditions" as it prepares "for the transition to electric vehicles." It's the latest alarm bell for the softening EV market in the U.S. as the legacy Detroit automakers try to catch up with Elon Musk's Tesla, which has also cut prices in a bid to recharge flagging demand.

5. SCOTUS code

It only took a few scandals, but the Supreme Court is getting an ethics code. On Monday, the nation's top court unveiled the new disclosure guidelines in a document you can read here. The action comes after several investigative recent articles, namely from ProPublica, revealed that Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas had accepted gifts and travel from billionaire friends without disclosing them. Yet, as CNBC's Kevin Breuninger points out, the code's lack of enforcement mechanisms could bother critics who have called for accountability.

– CNBC's Alex Harring, Jeff Cox, Melissa Repko, Ashley Capoot, Michael Wayland and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.

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