CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Lower, Jobless Claims Rise, Walmart Earnings Disappoint But It Increased Its Full Year Outlook 8/21/25

Episode Date: August 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 is lower this morning. Investors on hold for what Fed Chair Jay Powell has to say about interest rates and his speech tomorrow at Jackson Hole. The S&P 500 index is on a four-day losing streak. Investors are hoping the Fed will cut interest rates next month, but no one's really sure. The Dow, down 265 points out of the gate, 6 tenths of a percent, led lower by shares of Walmart. down more than 4% this morning. The S&P 500 index down 22 points. The NASDAQ is down 56 points. And video shares are higher up about a half percent this morning. More people applied for unemployment benefits last week than forecast. Initial jobless claims for the week of August 16th comes in a little bit high, $235,000. The biggest level going back to the third week of June.

CNBC's Rick Santelli continuing claims jumped to $1.97 million, very close to $2 million now. The highest in two and a half years. These are people who are still collecting unemployment checks over time, and it suggests it's getting harder to find that next job. Walmart says its tariff costs are rising. It's out with second quarter results that weren't great, but it's still increasing its full-year outlook as bargain-hunting consumers stick with the retailer. Walmart is winning on the back of value consumers, and value consumers are across the board now from the top of the economic chain down to the bottom. People love what Walmart's offering in terms of service, technology. They've built the ecosystem that Target hasn't.

Five new digitals, Michael Zucor, on CNBC, and Jeffrey's Corey Tarlow told CNBC, while Walmart is known for low prices and beat Target on price for back to school, overall prices at Walmart are high. higher. What we've seen in our data is that their pricing basket versus Target because we did a back-to-school survey is about 8% cheaper at Walmart than what you find at Target. So their prices are on the back-to-school items. There's about several thousand back-to-school items where they just kept prices flat. On a like-for-like basis, though, across their entire box in the U.S., pricing's up about 3%. Disney's new ESPN streaming service launching today, plans start at $12 a month. Sony passing tariffs along to consumers for its PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. The entry-level price for a PlayStation 5 digital edition goes up $50 to $500.

Instacart shares were lower as the delivery business faces new competition from the likes of Amazon and an analyst downgrade. Cracker barrel shares were lower as the restaurant chain works on a turnaround, lots of criticism on social media over a new logo. Starbucks is expanding its test of coconut water beverages. It's trying to get into the wellness trend. Coconut water has about 50 calories per cup, significantly fewer than sodas and sports drinks, but more than plain water, which has zero. Pumpkin spice lattes are back at Duncan today.

A week after Krispy Cream, Starbucks will unveil its fall menu and have them back in stores next Tuesday. The PGA Tour Championship has started in Atlanta today. NFL preseason week three on Amazon tonight with the Giants hosting the Patriots. Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. Breaking earnings news this week on CNBC and streaming on CNBC Plus.