CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Higher, Nvidia Shares Turn Lower, Chevron & Exxon Shares Hit Record Highs 3/17/26

Episode Date: March 17, 2026

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. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm Jessica Eddinger. CNBC, Wall Street this afternoon, still in the green, but the major averages are off their earlier highs. The Dow is up 105 points. Disney shares leading it higher on this final day of Disney CEO, Bob Iger, holding the position. They're up about 1.8%. The S&P 500 index up 20 points. The NASDAX up 81 points. Shares of Nvidia are in the red. They're down four-tenths of 1%. Companies who shares hit fresh all-time highs today include Chevron, Exxon, Micron, Center Point Energy, Duke Energy, and ConEd.

Oil prices around $94 a barrel this afternoon before the U.S. attack to Iran. U.S. crude was sitting around 67. Oil that is higher after a fresh round of Iranian attacks on UAE energy infrastructure, and as a tanker was hit in the Gulf of Oman. Also lingering questions about if and when there will be military escorts for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and which countries will send support. That's CNBC's PIPA Stevens. Gasoline, now up about 80 cents a gallon in 18 days, according to AAA.

That's about $14 more on average to fill the average SUV in the U.S. that has an 18-gallon tank. We're clearly having inflationary trends run through the economy. economy. Consumer confidence is getting hit, especially in the middle to low lower wage population. And when you have prices rise, if you're on a fixed income and you're spending an extra 50 cents a gallon for gasoline, that's being taken directly out of your disposable income and you're able to consume less goods and less services. And so I think the American consumer today is feeling that. So we are having economic consequences today. That's former National Economic Council Director in the first Trump administration, Gary Cohn, on CNBC. The national average for a gallon of regular now

$3.79, the highest in two and a half years. Diesel, which is, of course, what a lot of trucks use as they deliver food to the grocery store and other products. It's now more than $5 a gallon for the first time since the fall of 2022. Delta Airlines has been raising airfares for the past couple of weeks, but their flyers seem to be paying. First of all, jet fuel prices have almost doubled just since the start of the quarter, and that's a fairly significant hit for us. That said, the demand strength has been really, really great. Our consumers are really healthy.

We live at the top end of that K that people talk about, the premium end of the K, and that's where over 90% of our revenue is sourced from. That group of folks want to travel. We've seen eight of the top 10 sales days in our history this quarter, and five of those just within the last two weeks. even with fuel price, even with the war going on. Delta CEO Ed Bastion on CNBC. On Wednesday's watch list, we get that Fed announcement on what it's planning to do with interest rates. Earnings are coming Wednesday from General Mills, Macy's Micron, and 5 below. We will get the latest on

inflation at the wholesale level with the producer price index. And Disney's new CEO, Josh, tomorrow will begin. Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. Yours defying rare disease. Premers Thursday, 7 Eastern.