Market Open: Stocks Mixed, Pain at the Pump as Gas Nears $4.50 • 9/18/26

Summary

The CNBC business news update opened with mixed US equity averages, strength in chipmakers, and elevated oil, gasoline, and diesel prices. Gulf Oil's Tom Kloza warned that refinery outages are causing sharp regional gasoline price spikes and called the outlook daunting. A JP Morgan note said the oil team has stopped forecasting the Iran war endgame as economic red lines are crossed without a clear exit. Microsoft discussed AI liability, Russia seized Nestle assets, and Apple's iPhone 18 went on sale.

• US stocks opened mixed: Dow lower on IBM and Disney weakness, S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher, chipmakers mostly green.
• US crude oil traded above $102 a barrel; regular gasoline neared $4.50 and diesel hit a record $6.45 per gallon.
• Tom Kloza said refinery outages at ExxonMobil and Valero caused Chicago gasoline prices to jump 40-60 cents per gallon and called the outlook challenging.
• JP Morgan's oil team stopped forecasting the Iran war endgame after red lines like $100 oil and $5 pump prices were crossed without a deal.
• Microsoft published an AI code of conduct, with Mustafa Suleyman arguing AI manufacturers should bear product liability.
• Russia seized Nestle assets, extending seizures of Western corporate assets; Apple's iPhone 18 launched and S&P Dow Jones indexes rebalanced.