CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Sell Off, Gold Tops 1980 Inflation Adjusted Record High, Trump Economic Approval Rating Dives 4/21/25

Episode Date: April 21, 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 Eddinger, CNBC, Wall Street plunging. Loss is accelerating. It's an ugly afternoon for stocks. The Dow now down 1,144 points, 3%. Nvidia shares leading it lower, down 6%. The S&P 500 index down 164 points, that's 3%. The Nasdaq down 550 points now, that's 3.3 percent. Market sentiment seems to be focused on whether the president will attempt to fire Fed Chair Jay Powell. The dollar hit its weakest in three years today. Gold with another record

high. Gold crossed above the January 1980 inflation adjusted record, which was $3,428 an ounce. President Trump's approval rating on the economy has dropped to the lowest of his presidential career in a new CNBC survey. A plurality of Americans think across the board tariffs are a bad idea with most believing they will hurt jobs and be worse for inflation. And the public's having a hard time believing

there's payoff at the end of the process. The public also has not embraced the president's concern about our allies representing an economic threat to the country. Mexico, Japan, Canada, the EU and the UK all overwhelmingly seen by the public as more of an economic opportunity than an economic threat. Only China is seen by more Americans as a threat. CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Leesman. Oil companies on the edge of not making that much money with oil at about $63 a barrel today.

Price range was in a 70 to 85 dollar range. Now it's looking at 60 to 70 and once you get down under $60 you're starting to put real pressure on US production because companies have a social contract to return money to investors. They also have to reinvest to keep up production, and that gets harder as you go below $60 a barrel. So we're kind of on the edge right now. S&P Vice Chairman Dan Juergen on CNBC.

A big week for earnings ahead. Tesla reports tomorrow, Boeing on Wednesday, Google Parent Alphabet reports on Thursday. China, meantime, may have sent a brand new Boeing 737 MAX back to the U.S. It was intended for China's Xiamen Airlines, but it landed back at Boeing's U.S. production facility over the weekend. DHL pausing its overseas deliveries to the U.S. for goods valued at $800 or more because of tariffs. Morning Brew says packages valued below $800 will be delivered until May 2nd. That's when the White House closes that loophole.

Chinese retailers Taimu and Shien use DHL often to ship to U.S. shoppers. Volvo Group plans to cut hundreds of workers in the U.S. because of the Trump tariffs. The cuts are coming at the Mack Truck facility in Pennsylvania and two Volvo facilities in Virginia and Maryland. Access any market, anytime, anywhere. Start streaming. Go to cnbc.com slash plus now.