CNBC Business News Update - Market Close: Stocks Higher, S&P 500 Index New Record, Southwest Airlines CEO On Changes Coming 9/26/24

Episode Date: September 26, 2024

From Wall Street to Main Street, the latest on the markets and what it means for your money. Updated regularly on weekdays, featuring CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business newsmakers. Anchored by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. Wall Street opens Friday morning after a winning day for stocks and a fresh record high for the S&P 500 index on good economic data. Ahead of a new read on inflation coming Friday morning. The Dow was up 260 points, a half percent. The S&P 500 index up 23 points, four-tenths of one percent. And the Nasdaq was up 108 points. That was six tenths of one percent. The S&P has been up, including today, 11 of the last 14 trading days,

and it's up by six percent over that stretch. CNBC's Mike Santoli, a fresh record high for gold again on Thursday. Companies whose shares hit fresh highs on Thursday include Facebook and Instagram parent Meta, Netflix, T-Mobile, Hilton, McDonald's, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Ralph Lauren, and Caterpillar. The U.S. economy grew in the last quarter. GDP, third time around the block on second quarter, and we still see some movement from 2.9% expected, we get 3%. CNBC's Rick Santelli, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week, fell to its lowest level in four months as the job market remains solid.

The insurance industry is watching what Hurricane Helene has been doing. States of emergency now declared in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia. More than 1,000 flights canceled in the U.S. on Thursday. Pending home sales missed estimates for August. Pending home sales in August rose 0.6% compared with July, according to the National Association of Realtors. That's a slight miss. Some of the big homebuilders reporting recently, like Lenar and KB Home, noted pent-up demand on the sidelines as potential buyers wait for rates to go even lower.

CNBC's Diana Olick, the national average rate on a 30-year fixed home loan on Thursday was about 6.2 percent, according to Mortgage News Daily. Freddie Mac had the average rate at 6.08 percent, the lowest in two years. Southwest Airlines shares were up five percent. It'll introduce assigned seating, extra fees for better seats, a possible first class product, and new overnight flights and more to try to goose its profit. Southwest says it'll still let bags fly free. On the assigned seating and extra leg room, we did intensive studies with tens of thousands of current customers and customers of other airlines. 80% of our customers want assigned seating and 86% of other airline customers want

assigned seating. So it's very clear. What about bags fly free? And it was also very clear, which is it's the number three reason somebody picked Southwest. After fare, then schedule, then bags fly free. There's tremendous consumer loyalty and awareness of this, and they love it. Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan on CNBC. An activist investor group wants Jordan out, saying the company has just underperformed. On Friday's watch list, the latest on inflation with the PCE, Personal Consumption Expenditures Report, plus data on personal income and consumer sentiment. Best Buy members have their own special pre-holiday sales event Friday through Sunday.

Target, Walmart, and Amazon are waiting till October. New in theaters, Lionsgate's Francis Ford Coppola film, Megalopolis. Blue Fox's comedy, Empire Waste. And Universal's The Wild Robot. Universal is a sister company to CNBC. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC.