CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Lower, Oil Prices Remain Elevated, Fed's Waller Not Ready To Talk "Recession" 3/20/26

Episode Date: March 20, 2026

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I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Wall Street and the red out of the gate this morning. The S&P 500 Index is on pace for its fourth losing week in a row because of higher oil prices. As the U.S. war on Iran continues to dent global supply and the markets react. The Dow down 126 points. It's being led lower this morning by shares of Salesforce, which are down about 1.5%. The S&P 500 index down 28. The NASDAQ falling 163 points out of the gate, three quarters of a percent. The major averages on the 20th of March are down at least 3 percent for the month and for the year so far.

Shares of NVIDIA this morning down three quarters of a percent. U.S. crude hovering around $94 a barrel after spiking to more than $100 a barrel yesterday. Fed Governor Christopher Waller telling CNBC, it's the duration of the, the war that'll be important. It continues on for, you know, months on end. At what point do the consumers start backing off? I mean, they're looking at their gas tank. They're looking at the price and they're seeing how much is going into their car versus going into other things. And that starts affecting consumers' outlooks on the economy as well. So all these things could end up tipping the, now I don't want to say into a recession, but suddenly a much more weakening of the economy

than we thought. Barkley's Airlines analyst Brandon Oglensky tells CNBC, the American consumers still spending, especially when it comes to travel. As their lines right now, I mean, their bookings are up double digits. So if the consumer's concerned, they're definitely not necessarily showing that right now. Prices at the pump went up another three cents a gallon overnight. AAA says the national average now $3.91. Americans are now paying. 98 cents more for a gallon of regular today than they were a month ago.

Nine states in Washington, D.C. have hit the $4 a gallon gas mark. And economists call that a psychological level. 20% of the world's oil supply still not moving through the straight of Hormuz in the Middle East, as ships are under the threat of attack by Iran. Iran being a gatekeeper, so we are still seeing the occasional Iranian crude cargo passing through there, one or two others that perhaps have been given the nod by Iran, and perhaps a brave soul as well, just going for it. But ultimately, we're not seeing anything passing through, no progress on that side of things.

That's Kepler oil analyst Matt Smith on CNBC, and he has that the White House is saying a lot of things to influence energy prices. It's trying to keep oil prices down. Prices at the pump high. We're at $3.90 on the gallon on the national average there. Diesel prices are at $5.15 on the national average. No multi-year highs here. And so every single day we're getting out of the administration some type of rhetoric to try and keep oil prices in check here. And so whether it is a Jones Act waiver, whether it is with ethanol,

E-15 gasoline being able to be used during the summer, whether it's an SPR release, whether it is unsanctioning Iranian crude, we're getting these headlines every day. Super Micro lost a quarter of its value this morning. Shares tanked 25% after some employees were charged with smuggling invidia chips to China. It's round one on the NCAA women's college basketball tournament. Men started yesterday. Round one continues today. New in theaters, Amazon, MGM's, Project Hail Mary. Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. Get exclusive reporting and data on high net worth investors, family offices, and alternative investments

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