Cruise temporarily halts U.S. driverless fleet operations
General Motors' Cruise says it will be suspending its driverless fleet after California revoked its permit.
TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets close for trading Friday, October 27.
Full Video Transcript Below:
J.D. DURKIN: I'm J.D. Durkin, reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.
Stocks were mixed to close out today's session. The Dow closed down over 360 points, the Nasdaq closed three tenths of a percent higher, and the S&P closed down four tenths of a percent. All three major averages saw deep losses this week due to disappointing earnings commentary from names like Meta and Google parent Alphabet. Next week, investors will be watching closely for results from Apple and Starbucks.
Investors are also weighing fresh inflation data, which matched analyst expectations. Inflation rose 0.3 percent in September, marking the biggest jump in four months as consumers continue to spend. This data point will be important when the Federal Reserve meets next week.
In other news, just days after General Motors had its permit to test and operate driverless vehicles in California pulled, the company is pulling the cars off the road entirely.
California decided to pump the brakes on Cruise, GM's driverless car arm, after it was revealed it was withholding video about an incident involving one of its cars and a pedestrian. However, Cruise says the decision to remove all of its cars from the road isn't related to any new information, saying, "This isn't related to any new on-road incidents. We think it's the right thing to do during a period when we need to be extra vigilant when it comes to risk, relentlessly focused on safety, and taking steps to rebuild public trust."
Until the program was halted, Cruise offered driverless rides in San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Phoenix, and Miami.
Despite the ongoing investigations, Cruise has previously said that driverless cars are safer than those driven by people, claiming driverless cars are 65% less likely to be involved in an accident.
That's all for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I'm J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.
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