CNBC Business News Update - Market Open: Stocks Rally, Micron Says Chip Demand Is Strong, US Economy Grew 3% In Last Quarter 9/26/24

Episode Date: September 26, 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 Ettinger, CNBC. Look at the rally out of the gate on Wall Street this morning. Micron Technologies CEOs saying they see robust chip demand. Micron shares were popping on a better-than-expected revenue forecast. Other chip stocks were following suit, ASML and NVIDIA. The Dow up 253 points, a half percent. The S&P 500 index up 36 points, a half percent. And look at that NASDAQ up 192 points. That's more than 1%. Shares of Nvidia are up more than

2% today. Caterpillar shares are up almost 5% this morning. That's leading the Dow higher. The S&P 500 index at another intraday record high. Gold topping $2,700 an ounce. That's leading the Dow higher. The S&P 500 index at another intraday record high. Gold topping $2,700 an ounce. That's another record high. The U.S. economy grew in the last quarter. GDP third time around the block on second quarter. And we still see some movement, which is pretty interesting. From 2.9% expected, we get 3%. CNBC's Rick Santelli, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week, fell to its lowest level in four months. The U.S. job market is solid. Here's Rick again.

Initial claims, 218,000. It just remains so well behaved. The insurance industry watching as Hurricane Helene rolls toward Florida, it's poised to do billions of dollars in damage. Forecasters say it could reach category four strength by the time that it makes landfall in Florida tonight, and it could potentially be the strongest hurricane to hit the United States in over a year. The National Hurricane Center warns that the storm surge could climb to 20 feet along some parts of the coast, and that is nothing to joke about.

Wind is one thing. It can be incredibly damaging. You have got to get out of the way of the storm surge and the water that comes with it. The governor there making it very clear you have to get out of the way of this. But making sure people are safe is the state's objective. CNBC's Becky Quick, as many as five states now have declared states of emergency. Southwest Airlines shares were higher. It raised its summer revenue forecast. It'll buy back a half billion dollars in shares.

It's also cutting jobs and service in Atlanta to try to save money. As an activist investor group, Elliott is calling for big changes to improve profits at Southwest. CarMax says it's worried about loan losses. Even though it expects better quarterly sales numbers, the used car retailers' shares were lower. Best Buy members will have their own early holiday sales event tomorrow through Sunday. Target, Walmart, and Amazon are waiting for their sales until October. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC.