CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Higher, Jobless Claims Soar, GM To Hold Prices Steady Amid Tariffs For Now 5/1/25

Episode Date: May 1, 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 in the green to start May trading the Dow up 218 points this afternoon a half percent. Microsoft leading the way shares are up eight and a half percent. Facebook parent Metta shares higher as well. Both reported strong quarterly results after the closing bell last night. The S&P 500 index up 54 points, that's almost 1%, and the NASDAQ up 336 points this afternoon. That's almost 2%. Nvidia shares up more than 4% this afternoon.

Investors are eyeing the jobless claims number. More people than expected applied for unemployment benefits last week. They surged. 241,000. That's a pretty big jump. And continuing claims, once again, they surpassed 1.9 million. That will be the highest level going back to November of 21.

Many economists would agree that this is one of the best real-time barometers, if you will, of the labor market. So to see a jump both in continuing and initial claims is something to pay attention to. CNBC's Rick Santelli. Continuing claims hint that it's harder for people to find the next job. They keep collecting benefits. The government's big April employment report will be out tomorrow morning. Now, one explanation for the jump in weekly claims last week may be the timing of the spring recess for public schools, especially in New York. Support workers in schools in New York State can actually claim benefits for the spring break week. McDonald's same store sales dropped the most in five years in the

last quarter. It's more evidence that consumers may be clamping down on their spending even as fast food chains aggressively try to bring customers in with promotions and value meals. Tesla shares lower on a Wall Street Journal report that the EV makers board has opened a search up for a new CEO to replace Elon Musk. General Motors out with a new forecast for this year as the company tries to navigate tariffs, which it now says will cost it four to five billion dollars this year. We are working to offset that. We wanted to be very transparent with what the impact was with the current policy that's in position. Absolutely, we can make changes.

We've already increased production and added additional people in our Fort Wayne assembly plant. That's General Motors CEO Mary Barra on CNBC, and we asked her about raising vehicle prices to cover tariff costs. Right now as we look going forward, we think the pricing environment is going to be much where it is right now. International travel to the U.S. dropped in March, according to the Commerce Department, as visitors just decide to go somewhere else.

Certainly Canada drives out our leading travel partner. That Canadian snowbird travel of December, January, February, a lot of that was concluded by the time the Canadians kind of reached their point of peak frustration. We'll see what happens again this fall. Asia was enormous. It's down more than 30 percent. It's about 200 billion that these international travelers spend. That's bigger than all of our agricultural exports combined. That's the U.S. Travel Association's CEO Jeff Freeman on CNBC. We've got real issues when it comes to attracting these visitors.

What we need though is the plan, right? We've got the World Cup coming up in 14 months. We've got America issues when it comes to attracting these visitors. What we need though is the plan, right? We've got the World Cup coming up in 14 months. We've got America 250 next year. We've got the Olympics coming up in L.A. What's the plan rather than be in this situation we're in where they're just choosing to go spend their money elsewhere? Jessica Edinger, CNBC.