CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Mixed, GeoPolitics Weighs on Some Investors, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Lutnick Picked For Commerce Secretary 11/19/24

Episode Date: November 19, 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 by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Wall Street is mixed in midday trading with the Dow still in the red this afternoon, but way off its earlier lows. It's now down just 120 points, being led lower by shares of Johnson & Johnson, down 1.5%. S&P 500 index solidly in the green. It's up 8 points now, and the Nasdaq is up 90 points this afternoon. Companies whose shares have hit fresh all-time highs today include Ticketmaster, Parent Live Nation, Walmart, and Netflix.

Russia has been threatening a nuclear response to an attack by Ukraine using U.S. long-range missiles. But many investors seem to be shaking that off now. You were trying to figure out why Biden didn't do this before. Why did they not have long-range missiles. But many investors seem to be shaking that off now. You were trying to figure out why Biden didn't do this before. Why did they not have long-range missiles? And well, the reason why was that obviously there would be a statement about a nuclear response. This has been what everybody feared. This is really it. I mean, if you're going to have a negotiation, this is how the negotiation starts. You say, OK, look, this is out of control and maybe we've got to sit down, figure out what to do, whether it's solved by this administration or the next administration. This is the escalation that everyone had feared. And here it is.

CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer. Cantor Fitzgerald, CEO, is President-elect Trump's reported choice for Commerce Secretary. Howard Lutnick, the co-leader of Trump's transition, has been tapped to be Commerce Secretary. Now, this is a development that takes him out of the race for Treasury Secretary, the one we've been most focused on. And this is a job that will put him atop a really huge agency. He will have some powers and responsibilities over trade and export controls. You'll remember in the first Trump term that Wilbur Ross oversaw those Section 232 tariffs that went on steel and aluminum.

So we'll have some trade responsibilities, but others as well. It's a really broad agency that also oversees the CHIPS Act, the Weather Service, the Census. CNBC's Megan Casella. Walmart has raised its outlook again as consumers shopping for cheaper groceries are starting to spend in other parts of the store. But Walmart and many retailers are worried about the Trump tariffs. A campaign promised to tax everything coming into the U.S. It would be, of course, passed on to average U.S. consumers. CNBC's Sarah Eisen spoke with Walmart's CFO John Rainey. The retail sector as a whole continuing to grapple with what President-elect

Trump's proposed tariffs could mean for prices. A Walmart spokesperson reacted this morning saying, quote, we're concerned that significantly increased tariffs could lead to increased costs for our consumers. Rainey echoing that sentiment when we talked, he said, incremental tariffs will be inflationary for the consumer and that the past seven years they've lived under the China tariffs have proved that very point to be true. CNBC's Sarah Eisen. Spirit Airlines in the sky today is normal, flying in bankruptcy. Its financial losses are piling up, debt payments loom. JetBlue was unable

to buy Spirit, which hurt, but the airline says it can fly and book passengers without interruption as it restructures. Paramount's Gladiator 2 has opened overseas to records. The Hollywood Reporter says it made $87 million in 63 markets, the biggest R-rated international opening ever for Paramount, and the biggest foreign launch ever for director Ridley Scott. The movie is in many theaters in the U.S. Thursday. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. Don't miss CNBC Pro's best deal of the year. Sign up now at cnbc.com slash pro early access. Terms and restrictions apply.