Donald Trump’s election victory sparked sharp stock gains last week, but these gains have been put on hold for now ahead of the release of key inflation data that could factor into how the Federal Reserve approaches its next interest rate decision. 

The president-elect pushed a protectionist stance towards trade and immigration during his campaign - policies that are expected to push up inflation in the long term.

The consumer price index is due for release later Wednesday, and is expected to show headline price growth to have sped up to 2.6% last month on an annualized basis, compared to 2.4% in September. Month-on-month, the figure is tipped to come in at 0.2%, matching September's pace.

The "core" reading, stripping out more volatile items like food and fuel, is seen at 3.3% year-on-year and 0.3% on a monthly basis, in line with September.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari warned on Tuesday that any surprises in inflation could see the Fed keep rates steady in December, while Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said the central bank was ready to respond to any renewed upward momentum in recently waning price growth.