CNBC Business News Update - Market Close: Stocks Mixed, Major Indexes Lower For Week, Month & Year, Inflation Slightly Lower In February 3/12/25

Episode Date: March 12, 2025

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 Edinger CNBC. Wall Street opens Thursday morning after a mixed and volatile Wednesday for stocks. Inflation came in cooler than expected for February, but both Europe and Canada placed retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. The Dow fell 82 points, extending its losses for the week. It was down two tenths of 1% led lower by shares of Procter and Gamble which were down almost 3%. The S&P 500 index was in the green up 27 by the half a percent. The Nasdaq rose 212 points,

one and a quarter percent. Investors are saying after Monday and Tuesday's losses, Wednesday wasn't a rebound day. I mean, this is not much of a bounce at all. No, we were saying midday as well. So if you were on kind of team by the oversold dip, it's not a loss today,

but it definitely does not feel as if you've done, racked up a lot of the points. CNBC's Mike Santoli and Scott Wapner. Nvidia shares turned around Wednesday, popped up 7% after a slide over several weeks. Shares are down 14% for the year so far. Tesla shares popped up 7.5% Wednesday, but they're down almost 40% so far for the year. Inflation came in cooler than expected for February. In the new CPI report, the Consumer Price

Index, inflation ticked lower after four straight months of gains. February read consumer price index expected up three-tenths comes in a tenth light up two-tenths of a percent up two-tenths equals where we were in October to find a lower number you're back to July of last year. CNBC's Rick Santelli here's CNBC's senior economics reporter Steve Leesman. Yeah there was a concern we would come in on the high side. Everybody said they were looking for upside surprise so it's really good to come in below here. You got some help from food up just zero to meat, poultry, fish and eggs up 1.6% after

1.9 the month before. Dairy products were down. Energy was well behaved. You got a decline in airline fares down 4%. We don't know if that's a demand thing or that's just an energy thing being passed through. U.S. crude oil prices have been dipping. U.S. crude recently fell to its lowest in nearly four years, below $66 a barrel. It was around 67 on Wednesday. The soft price isn't because the U.S US is drilling more

and there's too much supply. It's because, analysts say, people are scared of a slowing economy. The main reason why prices are down is concerns about the global economy, obviously everything that's going on with tariffs, what that does for global growth. Drill baby drill is purely rhetoric.

It hasn't led to any increase in US production. We actually don't think it's gonna lead to any increase in U.S. production. We actually don't think it's going to lead to any increase in production. So this is really about global growth concerns rather than supplies. Energy aspects, Amrita Sen on CNBC. Airline shares fell on weaker demand and what may be a consumer travel slowdown. Target and Walmart shares were down Wednesday as investors worry that uncertainty means consumers will be pulling back their spending. A little life in the spring home selling season, weekly mortgage demand surged last week. The average rate on a 30-year

fixed home loan on Wednesday was higher though, 6.8% according to Mortgage News Daily. On Thursday's watch list we get the latest on inflation at the wholesale level with the PPI producer price index. Earnings are coming from Dollar General, DocuSign and Alta Beauty. We find out how many people applied for unemployment benefits last week and Major League Baseball starts its second annual spring breakout tournament. I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Weeknights. I think bonds represent safety in a world where the president on inflation has become the chief impediment to higher stock prices. I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC.