CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: S&P 500 Index And Nasdaq Hit Fresh Record Highs, Inflation Cools, Meme Rally Fizzles 5/15/24

Episode Date: May 15, 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 and reported by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Inflation comes in cooler for April and we've got a rally for stocks this afternoon on Wall Street. The Dow up 290 points, three quarters of a percent. The S&P 500 index up 51 points, just about one percent. The Nasdaq is up 189 points. That's more than one percent. The S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ hitting fresh intraday all-time highs this afternoon. The good thing about new highs is the new highs tend to beget more new highs. And the most important thing is the breadth of the market that we are seeing. Yields have been trending down. That's the most important thing that's happening. Number two, earnings revisions have been going up in the month of April. Normally they come down for the second quarter and the rest of the year they're going up.

CNBC's Bob Pisani. It's all about the latest on inflation. The CPI Consumer Price Index slowing to 3.4 percent in April compared to March and core inflation. Well, that's way down. CPI X food and energy year over year. This is 3.6. That is definitely cooler than the 3.8 we had last time. And the 3.8 last time and along with the 3.6 this time is now the lowest level of year over year core inflation since April of 21. CNBC's Rick Santelli, inflation fell or price increases cooled for car

buyers. And wow, when you go get the insurance, it's the other way around. The motor vehicle insurance thing still up strong, 1.8% on the month after, what was it, 2628 last month. New vehicles down 0.4%. Used vehicles down 1.4. Airline fares came down. Medical care attenuated a bit. CNBC senior markets reporter Steve Leisman. Lower prices means lower margins, which means lower stock prices. So right now it looks great, but we'll see. SMBC NECO Securities' Joe Livornia on CNBC. Another piece of economic data today. Retails sales for April unchanged from March.

Electronic sales ticked higher. Overall online sales down 1%. The data offers only a partial look at consumer spending because it excludes things like travel and lodging. And other data show consumers are spending big on travel. Boeing shares ticking lower after the Justice Department said the company violated a 2021 settlement related to its two fatal 737 MAX crashes. This now exposes the company to U.S. prosecution. GameStop and AMC shares were pulling back as the meme stock rally seems to fizzle out here on day three. The spring real estate market continues to disappoint. Last week, mortgage demand from would-be homebuyers dropped, even though mortgage rates eased down from 7.5% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan.

Today's average rate on that loan, 7.1%, according to Mortgage News Daily. The NFL season schedule is out for 24-25. International games scheduled in Brazil, England, and Germany. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. CNBC. Live ambitiously.