CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Lower But Still Near Record Highs, Investors Wait For Mag 7 Earnings, Dalio Says Warsh Reputation Is At Stake 4/27/26

Episode Date: April 27, 2026

The CNBC Business News Update with Jessica Ettinger features market numbers & news with CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business names. Updated throughout the business day. Visit https://www.cnbc.com/ for more. 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 Edinger, CNBC, major averages all in the red this afternoon, but modestly. The S&P 500 index and the NASDAQ, not too far from the record highs they opened with. Starting with the Dow, down 69 points. McDonald's shares leading it lower, they're down more than 1%. The S&P 500 index down just two points. The NASDAQ down 36 points. Checking shares of Nvidia, they're up 1.5% this afternoon. Companies who shares have hit fresh all-time highs today include Google Parent Alphabet, Micron, and Intel, building on its best day since 1987 last Friday. Intel gained 24% that day, up another 1% this afternoon.

Investors are waiting for important earnings reports Wednesday from four of the so-called magnificent seven stocks. Facebook and Instagram parent meta, Amazon, Google Parent Alphabet, and Microsoft. then on Thursday, Apple reports. We've already seen that earnings so far have been very, very strong. They've helped the market keep rising very, very strongly. But we've also seen that AI seems to be the main topic, really driving investor sentiment. So with the MAG7, so many of them reporting that earnings, the key thing is that narrative going to be continuing, which can enable this equity market rally to be sustained,

even in the face of the geopolitical conflict. Principal assets, Seema Shah on CNBC. Republican Senator Tom Tillis told NBC's meet the press. He plans to support Kevin Warsh's nomination to be the next Federal Reserve Chief. Now that the Department of Justice has dropped a criminal investigation into Chair Jerome Powell, which Tillis called Bogus. We were very clear that we have assurances from the DOJ that I need it to feel like they were not using the DOJ as a weapon to threaten the independence of the Fed. So this will allow Mr. Warsh to move on with his confirmation. So this means the confirmation of President Donald Trump's pick.

To lead the Fed is all but assured a Senate Banking Committee vote for Warsh is set on Wednesday. The president had pressured Powell to cut interest rates, and the Fed had not. Bridgewater founder Ray Dahlia says Trump's pick Warsh shouldn't bow down either. Everybody's going to look at how he behaves in terms of monetary policy. So if you were to take and ask that question to almost anybody who's objective, they would say, certainly you would not cut interest rates now, okay? You will lose your credibility. The Federal Reserve would lose its credibility, particularly now.

The trial of the year has begun in what some are calling Elon Musk's lawsuit against Open AIs Sam Altman, jury selection on in California today. Musk is accusing Altman and others of accepting his money, Greg Brockman specifically, advice and time under the false pretense of creating a nonprofit enterprise, only to turn OpenAI into a profit company years later. Musk is seeking as much as $134 billion in damages, a court order restoring OpenAI status as a nonprofit research organization, and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman and Greg Brockman removed from their roles. CNBC's Morgan Brennan. On Tuesday's watch list, the Fed begins a two-day meeting on interest rates.

We get earnings from Coca-Cola, General Motors, U.S. UPS and many more. We get a read on home prices with the S&PK Schiller Home Price Index, and on Tuesday, Pershing Square prices and IPO after the closing bell. Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. The central bank's key interest rate is expected to hold steady. But could the Iran war stall future cuts? Wednesday at 2 Eastern and streaming on CNBC Plus.