Market Open: Stocks Gain, Hurricane Oil Worries, iPhone 18 Pro Demand Softens • 10/9/26

0:02See NBC Business News Update. I'm Jessica Ettinger. Wall Street with some gains out of the gate on this Friday morning. Bond yields have eased a little bit. The yield on the 10-year note holding around 5.25 % this morning. The Dow is up 60 points. Amazon shares leading it higher. They're up almost 2%. The S &P 500 index up 29 points. The NASDAQ gaining 177 points. Chipmaker names are mixed. Nvidia's in the green by about eight-tenths of a percent. Most important thing for the markets, revenue growth and earnings growth. And so far, you know, the last four quarters have been remarkably good, even getting better.

0:43So let's see how that goes. Diversification key here. Oppenheimer's John Stoltzfus on CNBC. Oil is holding U.S. crude oil above$90 a barrel. The global benchmark Brent above$102 a barrel on fresh strikes in the Middle East, with a Saudi-led coalition now vowing a firm response to new attacks by Iran-backed Houthis. Delta Airlines shares down 4 % in early trading. The airline cut its full-year 2026 forecast as jet fuel costs soar. The CEO says demand from flyers for plane tickets, though, is really strong, even with higher prices. Apple shares falling on a Nikkei Asia report saying the company was cutting component orders for its iPhone 18 Pro following weaker than expected demand.

1:32Apple, the biggest drag on the Dow this morning, down 2%. Hurricane Isaias in the Gulf is now a Category 3 major storm. Power for oil and gas facilities on the Mississippi and Alabama coastlines could be impacted. Here's more from AccuWeather's Bernie Raynaud on CNBC. You can see all the oil rigs here. It's going to clip the eastern ones. To me, as an eyeball here, 15, 20 percent having direct impact. When you look at the refineries as well, I don't think we're going to see much impact from east of EAs with those. So that's certainly good news. Mining company Freeport and McMoran, its shares higher as gold prices were on pace for their first positive week in three.

2:16Major League Baseball proposing a shorter regular season, cutting eight games, bringing the season down to 154. It's also pushing for a salary cap. Major League Baseball Players Association responding, saying in a statement, players will weigh in on these proposals and we will respond at the bargaining table. Investors are watching Chipotle and Starbucks shares again today. Here's CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin with Joe Kernan. Shares of Chipotle heating up after the Financial Times reported that Starbucks has explored an acquisition of that burrito chain. Of course, Starbucks' CEO, Brian Nickel, led Chipotle before moving to the coffee giant.

2:54A Starbucks spokesperson, though, telling CNBC it doesn't comment on rumors or speculation. I think it's if you believe that Brian is a great operator and he was a great operator at Chipotle, and I think he's fixed Starbucks. You know where he cut his teeth. Taco Bell. Yeah, but he left Chipotle, and then, And by the way, the management of it wasn't so great. Meantime, Starbucks teasing today its holiday menu, which will be out in four weeks. New drinks include a tiramisu velvet latte. Returning drinks include the peppermint mocha, sugar cookie latte, and gingerbread chai. Jessica Ettinger, CNBC.

3:30From gas prices to housing prices. From government spending to consumer spending. From the AI boom to the data center backlash. How will this election hit your pocketbook and your portfolio? The Economy Election, CNBC.