CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Higher, Major Averages On Pace For Winning Weak, Target Changes Price Match Policy 7/25/25

Episode Date: July 25, 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 hitting fresh record highs today for the S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ major averages all in the green and all on pace for a winning week. The Dow is up 52 points this afternoon United Health shares recovering from yesterday's drop. They're up 2% today. The S&P 500 index up 15. The Nasdaq's up 60 points this afternoon. Nvidia shares are in the green. They're up about a quarter percent. Companies who shares hit fresh all-time highs today include Palantir, eBay, VeriSign, Charles Schwab, Ralph Lauren, Coach Parent, Tapestry, Fasten all and caterpillar going back to its debut on Wall Street in 1929.

President Trump visited the Fed yesterday in a move seen possibly to pressure Fed Chair Jay Powell to lower interest rates. The last time the Fed lowered rates last September, other rates went up,

including mortgage rates. Man, there's a guy that's getting kicked around a little bit right now. It's you know, the position he's in is almost a no-win right now, right? Because I think the Fed honestly is trying to do the right thing. They're looking at ongoing inflation pressures. They're looking at an economy that's growing between 2 and 3 percent.

They're looking at equities at the highs, volatility at the lows, credit spreads at record tights, and saying to themselves, you know, are rates really that restrictive, you know, in this environment. And yet they have the administration pounding on them to just to cut rates, cut rates. JPMorgan's Bill Eichmann on CNBC. As the EU struggles to reach a trade deal with the U.S., many companies are taking some massive tariff hits like Europe's automakers. President Trump imposed 25% tariffs on foreign-made vehicles and car parts back in April. And that is slamming Jeep, parent Stellantis, Volkswagen and Volvo, to name a few.

The FCC said yes to the Paramount merger with the entertainment group Skydance and it's worth about $8 billion. Once this deal closes, we're going to see some pretty significant moves, whether that means a move to sell off the cable networks of Paramount Global, whether that means they move to sell off the cable networks of Paramount Global, whether that means dramatic cost cutting, it could be the merger of Paramount Plus and Pluto, their free streamer. It could be some new deals. They're doing a big film deal with Will Smith. There's going to be a lot of very quick moves, I think, to kind of establish because they've had a year to sit on this plan.

Pucks, Matt Bellany on CNBC. Consumers who loved the Target price match perk will no longer be able to get a refund for the difference if they find the item priced lower at Amazon or Walmart. The Target price match will now be limited to include only if you find that product price lower at another Target store or on Target.com. Midsummer barbecues are getting expensive. Americans are paying up for beef. The average price of a pound of ground beef rose to $6.12 last month, up nearly 12% from the same month a year ago. Uncooked beef like steaks up 8%. Now an average of $11.49 a pound according to the government. New in theaters tonight, Disney's reboot of

Marvel's The Fantastic Four. Jessica Edinger, CNBC.