CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Mixed, Investors Wait For Nvidia Results After The Bell, Gas Prices Hit Highest Since War Began 5/20/26

Episode Date: May 20, 2026

The CNBC Business News Update with Jessica Ettinger features market numbers & news with CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business names. Updated throughout the business day. Visit https://www.cnbc.com/ for more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC. Wall Street mixed out of the gate this morning, ahead of earnings coming after the closing bell from AI chipmaker, NVIDIA, the Dow. In the red, down 37 points, led lower by shares of Salesforce, which are down almost 3%. The S&P 500 index up 12 points. The NASDAQ, adding 84 points. InVIDIA shares are higher by about a quarter of a percent. U.S. crude oil pulling back to under 100,000. $2 a barrel, down from about 108 yesterday. This, even as Iran, is now threatening to extend the war beyond its region. AAA, though, says American drivers are paying the highest gas prices since the war began when missiles were launched into Iran on February 28th. The national average for a gallon of regular sitting at $4.55, according to AAA. President Trump's IRS settlement includes protection from any charges that he has ever. cheated on his taxes in the past. In an unprecedented arrangement, the Trump administration has barred itself from pursuing any and all

claims against President Trump and his family that could have been made by the IRS, including his tax returns as part of a controversial $1.8 billion settlement between President Trump personally and the government that he leads. Now, the protection extends to Trump, his family members, the Trump organization, and parties, including trusts, parent, sister, or related companies, affiliates, and subsidiaries. It covers any pending tax audits of Trump and others the IRS may have been conducting, and the sweeping exemption of Trump and his family from normal obligations under tax law. CNBC's Aymond Javvers in Washington.

Target may be experiencing a turnaround. The struggling retailer is out with better than expected quarterly results. For the first time in five quarters, same store sales rose coming in up 5.6%. T.J. Max and Marshall's parent T.J.X. Companies reported strong quarterly results as budget-conscious shoppers look for discounts. But the company gave slightly weaker guidance for this current quarter. Space data centers, a little farther off than some think. Here's CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin with Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. on CNBC.

You were talking about putting infrastructure in space. Yes. And I think you were even talking a couple years ago about putting data centers potentially in space. Yes. Before you on, we were talking about data centers in space. Yes. How realistic is that really?

A lot of exciting, by the way, around the SpaceX IPO in particular, because of this view that we're all going to be moving stuff to space. Yeah. The question, are data centers in space realistic? The answer is yes. The timeline is harder to answer. So, you know, some of the timelines you hear are very short.

That's probably not right. You know, people who talk about two or three years. That's probably a little... Elon's talked about two or three years. It's probably a little ambitious. The interview with Jeff Bezos from Blue Origins Factory Floor on CNBC. Later today, we get the Fed minutes from its last meeting. They'll be out this afternoon.

Investors are going to comb through those for hints on the direction of interest rates. Investors now worry that the Fed may raise rates, as inflation climbs. Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. I wake up every day with two missions. How do I make my bosses more money? How do I get some of it? And I'm not apologizing for that to anybody.

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