CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Lower, Amazon Prime Day Sale 14 Billion Record Revenue, Darden Buying Chuy's 7/18/24

Episode Date: July 18, 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 and reported by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Wall Street is in the red this afternoon with the Dow down 211 points, the S&P 500 index down 39, the NASDAQ down 173 points, nine-tenths of a percent as the tech sell-off continues this afternoon, although NVIDIA shares are still in the green. Companies whose shares have hit fresh all-time highs today include homebuilders, D.R. Horton, Pulte Group, and Lennar, Walmart, Allstate, American Express, Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares, and Discover.

Amazon Prime Day drove U.S. online sales to a record $14.2 billion during the period, up 11% from the same sale last year. This is according to Adobe Analytics. Consumer electronics and back-to-school items were among the top categories. Amazon did not release specific numbers, but called its sale record-breaking. Investors talking about what the GOP vice presidential hopeful J.D. Vance said last night at the Republican convention in Milwaukee. Here's what he had to say about the Republican Party's relationship with Wall Street. Take a listen. We're done, ladies and gentlemen, catering to Wall Street. We'll commit to the working man. We're done importing foreign labor. We're going to fight for American citizens and their good jobs and their good wages.

People on Wall Street are a little bit stunned or surprised by some of that language last night. Probably they should take even greater note of what wasn't said in that speech last night. No mention of tax cuts, shrinking government, deregulating or job creators. This is a very new Republican Party that's aimed very much at working class America. They're aimed at union voters. It's a sea change in the American political landscape, but it also has enormous implications for Wall Street and for big business as well. CNBC's Eamon Javers.

Netflix reports quarterly results after the closing bell today. One expert says the company will likely beat estimates for the number of subscribers they added in the quarter. I think they'll probably overperform the consensus of four and a half million. I would expect them to do better than that. They're getting into sports, pro-life sports now, because nothing like sports to drive viewership. I think a big number in growth on the advertising tier would certainly send things going.

Orbit Gaming's and Newsweek's editor-at-large Tom Rogers on CNBC. Ford investing $3 billion to expand large super-duty truck production to a plant in Ontario, Canada that was previously slated for electric vehicles. The plant will come online in 2026 as more people want those big trucks. Darden Restaurants buying Chewy's Tex-Mex restaurant chain for about $600 million. Darden owns Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Ruth's Chris. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. This isn't just the open. It's golf as it's meant to be.

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