CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Mixed, Q1 US Economic Growth Slowest Since Spring of '22, Walgreens Closing More Stores 6/27/24

Episode Date: June 27, 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 and reported by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger.

I'm Jessica Edinger, CNBC, Wall Street mixed out of the gate with the Dow down seven points. The S&P 500 index is in the green, up three points. The Nasdaq up 32 points this morning. There are two trading days left in the month, a quarter, and the first half of the year. Stocks are on pace for a winning June. Some investors waiting for some key inflation data coming tomorrow morning. Today we got a couple of other pieces of data. Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week than the week before. And new gross domestic product data show the slowest economic

growth in the U.S. in the first quarter since the spring of 2022. The economy expanding at a 1.4% annual pace. Consumer spending grew, but just by 1.5%, down from the initial forecast of 2%. We had risks in the economy, but no apparent weaknesses. And now I'm afraid some of those weaknesses are showing up. The jobless claims number bugs me a little bit. The capital spending numbers, which had been pretty good, are now weakening.

The second quarter is where it seems like there's some real weakness going on. Now we're in this one to one and a half percent GDP range. That's some gathering weakness in the economy. CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Leisman. Walgreens shares plunging after the drugstore chain slashed its profit outlook and starts closing more underperforming stores. Walgreens does post a quarterly miss, cuts the guide, announces more store closures. They say 75 percent of stores account for 100 percent of profitability. There is room to cut. They got to close 2,000 stores. But I tell you, I was disappointed here. Why? Because I think Tim Wentworth, he's a fantastic manager and he couldn't get his arms around this. The Tim Wentworth that I know is someone who's more aggressive.

So this problem's got to be even bigger than he thought. CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer with CNBC's Carl Quintanilla referencing Walgreens CEO Tim Wentworth. Levi Strauss sales disappointed in the last quarter, even though denim is back. Second quarter sales at the jeans maker falling just short of analyst estimates and that's despite a surge in denim popularity. The company says consumers have been quote generally cautious and are not spending a lot on discretionary items. Along with raising its dividend for the first time in six quarters, Levi's is also working on its direct-to-consumer website while reducing reliance on department stores. Our DTC business is just on fire.

I mean, we delivered another double-digit quarter. We were up 11%. CEO Michelle Gass on Mad Money last night. CNBC's Frank Holland. Amazon, not known for low prices. So it's planning to launch a discount store to try to fight rivals from Asia like Timu and Sheehan. Amazon hosted a closed door event for sellers in China and will likely start accepting products this fall for this new

secret discount store. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. The Olympic Games are coming. But first, the best American athletes have to make Team USA. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials on NBC and Peacock.