CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Mixed, Dow Lower As United Health Shares Plunge 15%, Smallest Inflation Increase In 4 Years 5/13/25

Episode Date: May 13, 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 Ettinger, CNBC Wall Street Mixed this afternoon. The Dow is down almost 200 points being led lower by shares of UnitedHealth, which are down more than 15 percent. The CEO of UnitedHealth surprised everyone and said he's stepping down. The S&P 500 index is higher this afternoon, up 44 points, three quarters of a percent. The Nasdaq up 277 points now, that's one and a half percent. Nvidia shares are up more than five percent this afternoon. Companies whose shares have hit fresh all-time highs today include NRG Energy, Uber, MasterCard, and TJ Maxx and Marshall's parent TJX companies.

Inflation came in slightly cooler than expected in April in the new CPI report, the Consumer Price Index measure of inflation at 2.3 percent, the smallest increase in four years in what economists call a final lull, perhaps, before tariffs turn it higher. Somewhat better news on so so called headline for sure. The core inflation number has moved sideways at 2.8. That's not exactly moving directly towards two.

Former Fed vice chair Roger Ferguson on CNBC. The feds goal is 2% inflation. The US isn't there yet. Another take on the inflation data from Morgan Stanley, chief economist Ellen Zentner on CNBC. Look, this number this number doesn't matter because the tariff effects take on the inflation data from Morgan Stanley, chief economist Ellen Zentner on CNBC. Look, this number doesn't matter because the tariff effects are going to really start to

show up in next month's number. President Trump in Saudi Arabia on his first overseas trip of his second term with CEOs from major companies joining him, including Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Wong, Open AIs Sam Altman, Black Rocks Larry Fink, AMD's Lisa Su, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and the president of Google Parent Alphabet and the CEOs of IBM, Palantir and Qualcomm to name a few. Look, the relationship between Saudi and the United States was always very strong. It is now, it keeps getting stronger. It's in our interest to make sure that the Middle East is on the U.S. side when it gets to our fight with China.

This is as much about China, this visit and this trip and why President Biden went and why we strengthen the relationship with the Gulf. We need allies on our side if we're going to be in an economic war with China, and we're in one. TWG's Amos Ho Hochstein on CNBC. He's President Biden's former senior advisor. Toyota giving the one all electric vehicle, it says in the US a new name and some upgraded technology. Instead of calling it the BZ4X,

the car's just going to be called the BZ. It's poised to compete with the Tesla Model Y and the electric Chevy Equinox and the electric Blazer. The BZs are made in Japan and start around $37,000, but that's before tariffs. Coinbase shares were popping as the crypto exchange is set to join the S&P 500. The company will replace Discover Financial, which was bought by Capital One. The Cannes Film Festival begins in France. Hollywood is there. Amazon's two- Festival begins in France. Hollywood is there.

Amazon's two-day pet day sale is on. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. You come to my show and you learn how to do stocks. Mad Money, weeknight, six Eastern, CNBC.