CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Lower, Investors Evaluate Trump Auto Tariffs, Former Ford CEO's Take On Which Automakers Will Be Hurt The Worst 3/27/25

Episode Date: March 27, 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 in the red this afternoon as investors try to gauge the Trump auto tariffs. But stocks have been moving around the Dow down 83 points being led lower by shares of Goldman Sachs the Dow down a quarter percent the S&P 500 index down three points the NASDAQ now down nine points and video shares are down more than 1%. Companies whose shares have hit fresh all-time highs today include AutoZone and O'Reilly Auto, presumably because people will hang on to their cars longer and fix them up rather than try to buy new ones with tariffs on them.

Also all-time highs for Olive Garden, Parent Darden restaurants and Cardinal Health. Shares of the car makers are struggling this afternoon. With GM down 7%, Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, down 4%, Ford down almost 3%. After the surprise in President Trump's announcement slapping tariffs on autos and light trucks not made in the US. A lot of people thought this was gonna be

just on finished autos, but now it's actually on autos and auto parts. His new 25 percent auto tariffs will begin to be collected on April 3rd and will be applied to imported passenger vehicles, including sedans, SUVs, crossovers, minivans, cargo vans and light trucks. And they'll also apply to key automobile parts, including engines, transmissions, powertrain parts and electrical components. Now, last year, the U.S. imported 46% of the nearly 16 million sold in this country. This is a president who views these tariffs as a way to restructure American manufacturing

and by extension, American society in some ways, and generate revenue for Treasury against his proposed tax cuts. Tesla, the clear winner emerging from the Trump auto tariffs along with Rivian. Tesla shares up 5% this afternoon, Rivian up 7%. The cars they sell in the U.S., they make in the U.S. But what about other car makers? Ford is probably the least worst impacted. 80% of their sales here in the US are produced here in the US. I'd say they're in the best shape in terms of the domestic three. Toyota and Honda, they have a significant presence here in the US that they can expand.

GM, they're particularly exposed. And in Stellantis' case, they import about 45%. VW, they import 80%. Hyundai Kia, they import about 65%. And then you have some of the smaller Japanese makers. Mazda, Subaru, they import about upwards of 90%. That's former Ford CEO Mark Fields on CNBC. And here's Mad Money host Jim Cramer

with CNBC's Carl Quintanilla with their take. This is a classic left wing issue with their take. This is a classic left wing issue. In that this is the hard left UAW calling for this. And I think it's kind of intriguing that the president is agreeing with the hard left UAW.

Oh, yeah, UAW has come out with statements of support. Of course, they're arguing for high paying jobs, right, which is going to make the end product a little more expensive. Is it not? Exactly.

Yes, it will. Solid economic growth for the fourth quarter of last year. The third and final read of US GDP, that's gross domestic product, a measure of the nation's output of goods and services. It's out, but the holiday quarter slipped from Q3 of last year. On the GDP, of course, this is our third time around the block. Previous quarter was 3.1, 2.4, so 2.4 is our final read. CNBC's Rick Santelli, 2.4 percent is still a healthy growth rate. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC.

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