CNBC Business News Update - Market Close: Stocks Mixed, Dow Record High, Netflix Results Out, Amazon's Election TV Special 10/17/24

Episode Date: October 17, 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 opening Friday morning after a record-setting day for stocks, but a mixed market at the close. The S&P 500 index hit a fresh intraday high, but closed down a point. And the Dow closed at a fresh record high. The Dow was up 161 points, closing at 43,239. The Nasdaq was in the green, up six points. Dow was up 161 points, closing at 43,239. The Nasdaq was in the green, up six points.

Netflix reported better than expected quarterly results after the closing bell on Thursday. It added more subscribers than expected, but shares were ticking lower in after-hours trading. Engagement was up really less than 1%. What does that suggest? It suggests that over all of the additions of subscribers, what Netflix was really doing was a de facto price hike on the people that might have been sharing those passwords. And now the same households are paying double. So I think we're going to start to see that it's going to be very difficult for Netflix to continue to increase the way that it has. Big technology's Alex Kantrowitz on CNBC. Retail sales for last month came in better than expected, as Americans spend.

So the numbers are good. Inflation has come down pretty substantially, and we're seeing real wage growth. And the unemployment rate, still very low by historic standards. We ought to feel good about the way we're heading into the holiday season. National Retail Federation head Matt Shea on CNBC. Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week as the job market remains solid. In fact, the number was the lowest in three months. Amazon getting into the live TV news game with an Amazon Prime election night special

hosted by Brian Williams. Tractor maker Deere shares dropped Thursday as the Biden administration and Democratic senators raced to help farmers. The FTC's investigation of Deere is to determine whether Deere and company is engaging in unfair, deceptive, anti-competitive practices. This is a long-going dispute involving John Deere and the right of repair by the owners and farmers who operate that equipment, whether they're allowed to repair or able to repair the equipment themselves. Elizabeth Warren, the senator, sent a letter regarding this about two weeks ago asking whether or not deer was being unfair to farmers who own their equipment by withholding information about how to repair the equipment and therefore driving up the costs of repairing the equipment

because it can only be done by deer-authorized personnel. CNBC's Eamon Javers. Campbell's is going big into sports. How about snacking on goldfish crackers at a basketball game or having SpaghettiOs at a hockey game? The soup and snack company is partnering with the company that owns the Philadelphia 76ers NBA team, the New Jersey Devils NHL team, NASCAR's Joe Gibbs Racing, and the Washington Commanders NFL team. One of the things we're excited about is Chunky Soup.

With the Commanders on a cold winter day at a football game, the Campbell's portfolio very much aligns with fans that are attending. And so what we are able to do is create experiences for them in the stadiums, at the game, flank the games with advertising, but also being able to offer the food. That's Campbell CEO Mark Klaus on CNBC. On Friday's Watch List, earnings are coming from Procter & Gamble, American Express, Regions Bank, and Comerica. We get a read on the new construction home business

with numbers on housing starts and building permits, new in theaters, Paramount's horror thriller Smile 2, and A24's We Live in Time. And Taylor Swift's Heiress Tour returns to the U.S. with three back-to-back shows starting Friday night in Miami. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. Earnings season. When the CEOs have a big announcement, they come here first.

A wild hour of earnings. Earnings season. Special coverage all this month on CNBC.