CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Higher, Dow And S&P 500 Index Each Hit Records, Fed Rate Cut Expected Tomorrow 9/17/24

Episode Date: September 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 Edinger, CNBC. Fresh record highs today for both the Dow and the S&P 500 index, ahead of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. The Nasdaq is about 4% away from its record high from last July. The Dow right now is up 61 points off its earlier high. The S&P 500 index up 14 points. The Nasdaq up 92 points this afternoon. Companies whose shares have hit fresh all-time highs today include American Express, MasterCard, and Visa, and Travelers and IBM. The Fed is holding day one of a two-day meeting on interest rates today. It's expected to cut rates tomorrow for the first time in about four years. A new CNBC Fed survey says most people believe it's going to be a quarter percentage point cut with a soft

landing for the economy. A quarter percent is the same as 25 basis points. That's how experts refer to the move. I think 25 feels like the right way to start a rate cutting cycle that quite frankly is not an emergency cutting cycle. It's a luxury to be able to cut at this point. It's not necessarily a necessity that they need to go crazy. So I think that's where we are right now. Red Holtz Welts, Josh Brown on CNBC. Retail sales came in better than expected for August. Up one-tenth of a percent. We're expecting a negative number. The reason? Because last month we were up a whopping one percent. That was the best going all the way back to the first quarter of 2021. If you strip out autos, it remains up one-tenth. CNBC's Rick Santelli.

Microsoft shares are higher today. Microsoft shares up over 1.5% after it raised its quarterly dividend by about 11% to 83 cents a share, also authorizing a new share buyback of up to $60 billion. That news coming on the same day that Microsoft announced new features to its 365 Copilot, including the addition of Copilot Pages. CNBC's Frank Holland Copilot is an AI chatbot. When companies buy back their own stock, it means less of it. It's on the market, and that can boost the price. Home Depot paying $2 million to settle claims of overcharging customers at the checkout

where people would be charged more than the shelf price for the item. CNN says the L.A. County District Attorney went after Home Depot for scanner violations. The chain has to implement a price accuracy program. Gas prices haven't been this low since January. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.20. And 16 states now have gas with a two-handle below $3 a gallon. Cyber threats have increased. It's election season, but they also now have a lot

of companies on edge. The ability for attackers to conduct threats effectively is much less expensive than it is for organizations to defend against them. And that's something that's been the case time and again. Disruption now being such a key factor in that, right? So when we look at these ransomware attacks, we're not only seeing organizations steal data and encrypt it, but they are specifically looking to disrupt the business. Palo Alto Network's Wendy Whitmore on CNBC. McDonald's has Crocs Happy Meals in restaurants today. There's no free pair of plastic shoes with each meal, but you do get a collectible mini Crocs clip and a sticker. Jessica Edinger, CNBC. My dream entrepreneur, somebody who started with nothing and built an empire.

It's the American dream. Shark Tank, tonight starting 7 Eastern, CNBC.