CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Higher, Iran Rejects US Peace Offer But Investors Are Optimistic, Diesel Prices Soar 3/25/26

Episode Date: March 25, 2026

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I'm Jessica Eddinger, CNBC, Wall Street in the green this afternoon. Investors are hopeful that there's some sort of communication happening between the U.S. and Iran. The Dow is up 262 points, being led higher by shares of Merck, up almost 3% this afternoon. The S&P 500 index up 32. The NASDAX up 155 points. Major averages all higher by at least 1% in the lunch hour. Wall Street time. Envidia shares are up more than 2% this afternoon.

Iran has rejected a U.S. ceasefire offer and it's demanding sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Here's CIBC's Rebecca Babin on CNBC. We did see nine ships moved through the street yesterday. Iran did issue a letter to the International Maritime Organization, kind of laying out the ground rules potentially for more flows. So I think that's the thing you watch. That's the key. Not necessarily every headline, every single kind of change in rhetoric.

It's the barrels through the straight. And that's what's going to tell you when you can start thinking about fundamentals and trading crude as a commodity and not a headline or rhetoric indicator. And she adds, I always say if the headlines are flowing faster than the barrels, we still have a problem. So we can't say that this is solved. But I do think we can say potentially moving in the right direction. Now prices at the pump are up again today, but only by about a half cent. AAA says the national average, just under $3.99 a gallon. And it says 12 states now have average gas prices at $4 a gallon or more. American transportation runs on diesel. How about diesel? We talk a lot about gas prices going up, but diesel prices, and this is the lifeblood of the supply chain.

Right? This is in trucks and in agriculture and in equipment like tractors. And it's beyond $5 a gallon. I think in California it's gone up plus $7 a gallon. And so when we also think about the kind of ripple effects that this could have, CNBC's Sarah Eisen, those ripple effects include higher prices for everything that can be shipped, including food. As consumers start to get higher tax refunds this spring, part of the big beautiful bill, VETA partners. Henrietta Trays tells CNBC, many Americans don't really have any extra money now. After $83 a barrel, the one big beautiful bill tax benefits get completely wiped out for the American public. So we're way past that. Americans are shifting their car buying behavior. It started before the war on Iran. Here's CNBC's Phil LeBoe with new data from Cox Automotive. We are seeing a shift in terms of what people are buying. First of all, you're seeing a plateau. Fourth quarter sales to first quarter sales.

no growth here. But the buyers are shifting from full-sized vehicles to mid-sized vehicles. Some of that may be pricing, some of that may be fuel economy. And speaking of fuel economy, hybrids are running hot. Hybrids now are almost one out of every five vehicles that were sold in the United States in the fourth quarter. On Thursday's watch list, earnings are coming from shoe carnival and designer brands. We find out how many people applied for unemployment benefits last week. NCAA March Madness Suite 16. begins. It's equal payday for women. And Thursday is opening day for Major League Baseball. 11 games are scheduled. Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. April 15th, financial experts, investors, and policymakers gather in D.C. for conversations on America's

Economy. CNBC's Invest in America Forum. Request an invite at cnbc events.com slash invest.