CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Mixed, Waiting For Tariff Details, Doge To Slash Treasury Department Jobs 3/26/25

Episode Date: March 26, 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 mix this afternoon after tech stocks retreat. The S&P 500 index is down after a three day winning streak. Let's get to the numbers. The Dow still in the green up 75 points. It's being led higher by shares of McDonald's which are up one and a half percent this afternoon. The S&P 500 index down 28 points. That's a half percent. The NASDAQ falling 220 points.

That's one and a quarter percent. Nvidia shares are down almost 5% this afternoon. Tesla shares pulling back almost 4%. Companies whose shares have hit fresh all-time highs today include Cardinal Health, Take Two Interactive, and Berkshire Hathaway's Class B shares. President Trump says tariffs coming next week will probably be more lenient than reciprocal. I mean, we're at this moment where the president's playing rope-a-dope and you hear that it's

going to be good and there may be some exceptions and you hear there are no exceptions. Anything to keep us off guard while we wait. And I just find that that is something that the stock market does want. It is every day best to not think about it, best to focus on companies, because you can't fathom what the president's going to do. Mad Money host Jim Cramer on CNBC. Mortgage demand from home buyers came in higher last week

than the same week a year ago. That's with mortgage rates. For a 30-year fixed home loan, around 6.7%, And from home buyers came in higher last week than the same week a year ago. That's with mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed home loan around 6.7 percent. Rates are a touch higher this week, 6.8 percent today, according to Mortgage News Daily. Elon Musk's Doge Department of Government Efficiency is targeting the Treasury Department. The Treasury Department is expecting layoffs that one official has described as substantial. That language is from a legal filing in which a Department HR official also said that workforce cuts would disproportionately affect probationary employees who've been ordered temporarily

reinstated to their jobs after the Trump administration tried to fire them. Court filing from yesterday said that the Treasury Department is finalizing plans in response to President Trump's executive order last month on streamlining government operations. CNBC's Joe Kerman. 100% of social security overpayments will be clawed back from recipients starting tomorrow. Miscalculations or income changes that weren't updated can cause overpayments. Benefits will be withheld from recipients until the overpayment is recovered.

Without a doubt, we have to address Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. The Social Security Inspector General last year highlighted 72 billion dollars of improper payments just in Social Security. There's a lot of waste and fraud and abuses within the federal government. We need to create efficiencies. That's Representative Jason Smith of Missouri. He's the chair of the Ways and Means Committee on CNBC. Canada has frozen electric vehicle rebate payments to Tesla buyers, and the carmaker's been banned from future rebate programs because of new tariffs

imposed by the U.S. on Canadian products. Advance auto parts opening at least 100 new stores over the next three years. USA Today reports that the new locations come after it closed 700 older, underperforming locations. Amazon testing a new health assistant and a new shopping assistant, each using generative AI.

Dollar Tree selling off the family dollar chain for a billion dollars. It paid nine billion for that. Copper hit an intraday all-time high as investors anticipate new tariffs on copper. Consumers could be impacted if home builders end up passing through higher costs for them to the buyers. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. April 8th, join the CNBC Changemakers Summit featuring powerful women transforming and redefining leadership

in the world of business. Request an invite at CNBCevents.com slash Changemakers.