CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Lower On Russian Nuclear Threat, Walmart Ups Forecast, Builders Started Contruction On Fewer New Homes In October 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, tanking this morning on geopolitics. Fears of a nuclear incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin lowering the threshold for a nuclear strike on Ukraine. The Dow down 325 points, three quarters percent. The S&P 500 index down 28, the NASDAQ down 56 points. You were trying to figure out why Biden didn't do this before. Why did they not have long range missiles? 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 and 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. Walmart has raised its outlook again as consumers shopping for cheaper groceries are starting to spend in other parts of the store. Walmart's actually in the green today.

Shares are up 3.5%. Lowe's out with better than expected earnings, but still expects sales to fall this year. Housing starts for October came in lower, with home builders starting construction on fewer new properties than expected. Remember, we had Storm Milton, you know, in October. We had Helene in September. Number 1,311,000 on starts at seasonally adjusted annualized units. So we're down, what, 3%-ish.

That is the lightest rate since July. And that July rate on starts, of course, was the weakest going back all the way to 2021. CNBC's Rick Santelli. And here's CNBC real estate reporter Diana Olick. Single family still needs much more construction and we're down 0.5 percent year over year in October. So not a good sign for that. But the builders were seeing these higher mortgage rates. Also, I want to talk about that weather effect, which was that we did see a big drop in the south on housing start single and multifamily. That, of course, due to the hurricanes. We also,

though, saw a big drop in the northeast. So you can't blame it all on the weather. I also want to throw in that they've seen lumber prices spike in the last couple of weeks. In fact, we're at the highest level of the year right now. And for framing lumber, prices are up 20 percent year over year. That has to do with very low supply. The Wall Street predictions for investment returns for next year are starting to come out. Goldman Sachs says it expects the S&P 500 index to gain 11 percent next year. So far this year, the S&P is up more than 20 percent. Boeing is cutting thousands of workers. Another 2,500 people is part of the sweeping staff reduction it announced last month. The aerospace giant is cutting upwards of 2,500 jobs across the U.S. and the company last month revealed plans to cut 17,000 jobs or that's about 10 percent of its global workforce to address the financial fallout of its recent worker strike and production delays. CNBC's Silvana Hanau. Spirit Airlines in the sky today

is normal flying in bankruptcy. Its financial losses are piling up. Debt payments loom. Jet Blue was unable to buy Spirit which hurt but the airline says it can fly and book passengers without interruption as it restructures. Paramount's Gliator 2 has opened overseas to records the hollywood reporter says it made 87 million dollars 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.