Market Midday: Stocks Lower, US Crude Tops $104, Diesel at Record High • 9/15/26

0:01CNBC Business News Update Market Midday. I'm Jessica Ettinger. Wall Street losses accelerate this afternoon. Oil is higher. Bond yields are rising. The yield on the 10-year Treasury touching a 19-year high today. Let's check the major averages. The Dow down 505 points, just about 1%. Goldman Sachs shares leading it lower this afternoon. They're down 3%. Nike down 2%. The S &P 500 index down 41 points. That's a half a half a half a half a half. percent. The Nasdaq down 203 points, three quarters of a percent. Chipmaker shares are mixed this afternoon. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which is the centerpiece

0:41Jessica Ettinger: of the U.S. bond market, climbed to 4.99 percent late yesterday, briefly touching 5.04 percent overnight. It has been jumping to its highest level in years, and yesterday was the first time It breached 5 % since 2023. Now, what's behind the Treasury moves? CNBC's Rick Santelli got that question from CNBC's Joe Kernan. Why are global yields rising? Inflationary expectations around the globe. I think it's debt and deficits, and I think it's the explosion of AI issuance. And I do think there is a portion of that that is the U.S. economy doing pretty well. I'd say maybe a third of what we see on U.S.

1:21yields, maybe a little more, is based on growth. The Fed is meeting on interest rates this afternoon. An increase is expected to be announced tomorrow afternoon of a quarter percentage point to try to tamp down inflation by making borrowing more costly. The sentiment is already pushing mortgage rates higher. Today would-be homebuyers are now facing a nearly 7.2 percent rate for a 30-year fixed home loan, according to Mortgage News Daily. U.S. crude oil higher again today. Today,$104 a barrel WTI, West Texas Intermediate, a key oil pipeline in the Middle East that helped bypass the Strait of Hormuz was attacked and shut down.

1:58Energy Secretary Chris Wright spoke on CNBC today. The Babel Mandib is an increasing problem. Again, an Iran-backed proxy group. They're trying to bring economic terrorism to the world. Most of those cargoes now actually go through the Suez Canal and the pipeline through Egypt that sits next to the canal. So it's a longer route. It's not ideal. but energy gets to market. Pain at the pump, though, continues. For drivers, the national average for a gallon of regular is up to$4.33, according to AAA. Diesel at a fresh record high of$6.27 a gallon. Debate continues today over a slowdown in AI. As top AI company leaders say, it's time to tap the brakes.

2:40Here's CNBC's Arjun Korpall. There is a genuine concern about the ability of this technology to get out of hand, recursive self-improvement or RSI, the idea that these AI models are going to be able to improve themselves with very little human intervention. And the fear is there then that these models could become out of control in the sense that there won't be as much oversight. And Korpall says skeptics think AI companies may have other reasons to try to slow down the AI race. One is around a term called regulatory capture. I.e. these companies are trying to say we want to be regulated, but they're going to get favorable regulation that pushes out potential smaller of competitors, and they are spending billions of dollars on CapEx.

3:19And perhaps the slowdown is because those revenues are not just quite there yet. General Motors releasing a new vehicle infotainment system beginning later this year with its redesigned Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. GM is in part trying to improve how drivers can use third-party systems from Apple and Google alongside its own software. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC. Hey, Fidelity. How can I remember to invest every month?

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