CNBC Business News Update - Market Close: Stocks Mixed, S&P 500 Index Closes At New Record High, Kohl's Is The New Meme Stock 7/22/25

Episode Date: July 22, 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 Ebinger CNBC. Wall Street opens Wednesday morning after a mixed Tuesday for the markets. The S&P 500 index closed at yet another record high. The Dow was up 179 points, four tenths of a percent, led higher by shares of Amgen, which were up 3 percent. The S&P 500 index added four points. The NasdaQ down 81 points on Tuesday, 4 tenths of a percent. NVIDIA shares a drag. They were down 2.5 percent. Companies who shares at fresh all-time highs include Fasinal, Southern Company, American Electric Power, and Northrop Grumman. August and September could be volatile.

Seasonally, these are the worst months ahead of us, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a little bit of push pull in the marketplace. But I think I lean my hat on the economy and the economy is humming at 2.5% high towers. Stephanie Link on CNBC and a word of warning about meme stocks

from Ritholz Welts, Josh Brown. One of the things that you want to not do, and I wish somebody had told me this when I first started investing, is not extrapolate sideshows into the center ring of the circus. So there's a freak show happening outside the tent.

Coles is up 37% today. On Friday it was a $9 stock. Today it's 14, it opened at 19. Just outrageous, right? I mean, great for people that own it. Congratulations. Um, no disrespect. 87 million shares traded hands by 10 a.m. Not normal. Home builders rallied Tuesday on strong results from D. R Horton and Pulte group. General motors said its profit shrank by more than a third in the last quarter as it took a tariff hit of more than a

billion dollars. GM makes some of its models outside of the U.S. When it comes to General Motors, North America is the profit driver. And because you have a 25 percent tariff on vehicles built in Canada and in Mexico, a certain amount can be offset because of USMCA, but not all of it. And that's where you see the impact on margin. They have to eat it. 6.1 percent margin in North America versus 10.9 percent last year. They're clearly eating it. I mean, that's the story right there.

CNBC's Phil LeBeau. Coca-Cola earnings beat estimates. Strong demand in Europe offset weakness elsewhere, including North America, where soda sales dropped. The company says it will offer a version of Coca-Cola made with American cane sugar. President Trump said last week he had spoken with a company about using real cane sugar in its drinks.

This is what? Like a Mexican Coke you're gonna roll out for the United States? So later, yes, later this fall we're going to launch, we're gonna launch a, we're going to launch a Coke, a Coke option sweetened with US cane sugar put in the marketplace. The president is a well-known, enjoys the Coca-Cola brand. We love that. He's an enthusiastic consumer. And so yeah, we are going to launch later this year. He's knowledgeable

about the industry and we think it'll be a great option for consumers as we give people more choice and more ways to enjoy the Coca-Cola brand. It's funny because you and I have been talking quarter after quarter and the star of the quarter has been Coke Zero Sugar. So it's interesting now that you're leaning into sugar. That's CNBC's Sarah Eisen with Coca-Cola's CEO James Quincy. On Wednesday's watchlist earnings are coming from Tesla and Google Parent Alphabet. We get existing home sales numbers for June. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. Wednesday August 6th, join CNBC's virtual small business playbook event

Real World Insights on navigating volatility and seizing opportunity. Register now at CNBCEvents.com slash small biz.