CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Lower, China Tensions Increase, Russell 2K Hits Record High, Gold Hits Fresh Record High 10/15/25

Episode Date: October 15, 2025

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I'm Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. Wall Street has turned red this afternoon with the down, now down 175 points. Three-tenths of a percent. Travelers' shares leading the way down. They're down three percent. The S&P 500 index now lower, down 22 points. The NASDAQ is down 61 points. Investors this afternoon have turned their focus to trade tensions with China. Here's C&P. NBC's Aiman Javers in Washington. We got a potentially significant look behind the scenes of the recent diplomatic breakdown between the two economies. A lot of it comes down to just one obscure official.

Now, I asked Treasury Secretary Besson about his comment to Sarah Eisen this morning in which he uncharacteristically singled out a lower-level Chinese official, Li Cheng, of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. He showed up uninvited in Washington and said, quote, China will cause global chaos if the port shipping fees go through. Now I asked Besson if the U.S. wants China to remove Shengang from their negotiating team, and he replied simply, that's up to them. Stocks may have turned around and headed lower this afternoon because of trade tensions with China,

but the Russell 2000 index hit a record high today, although it may not be a quality record high. A lot of excitement about this acceleration higher in the Russell 2000. It is a pretty distinct breakout, really of a multi-year range. I would just point out what's driving it. And it's not, to me, a big macro story about the broader economy, gaining pace, the Fed cutting rates. Obviously, that's part of the situation in general, but it's also just this low-quality speculative beta chase. It's all of these kind of alt-energy names, the crypto-related, the drone stocks, the quantum computing names. That's CNBC's Mike Santoli. Gold with another record high today. Investors look

to put some money in what's considered a safe haven. Apple announcing a new MacBook Pro and other devices with updated chips. Bank of America and Morgan Stanley each out with strong quarterly results this morning. Consumers say they expect higher prices for holiday items. This is from a new Deloitte survey. They also say they're going to definitely spend less on holiday items this year compared to last year, about 10% less. What people say they're going to do and what they actually do is very different. And the second question of, are prices going to be up to that degree? Absolutely. And not only will prices be up, but the items that we tend to focus on during the holiday season, like toys, will see a disproportionate amount of pricing. UBS is Michael Lasser on

CNBC. Coffee futures are soaring again. Arabica coffee prices surging with severely dry conditions in Brazil's primary coffee growing region. It sparked concerns for future beans during the critical flowering phase of Brazil's 2026-27 coffee crop. Now, Robusta coffee prices may balance this out a bit because more rain in Vietnam looks to help the crop there. The mega millions jackpot has jumped to $625 million for Friday night. There was no winner last night. L Brands has its Victoria's Secret fashion show on TV tonight. Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. Weeknights. This is a very challenging moment for discipline investors who are trying to invest long-term. I wish all stocks just coexist at once without the speculative stocks knocking everything else down. Mad Money, Weeknight Six Eastern, and streaming on CNBC Plus.