10 things to watch Thursday, Jan. 16 1. The S & P 500 was looking at a muted open Thursday, the morning after its best gain since the election. The 10-year Treasury yield was slightly higher after falling Wednesday in response to a cooler-than-expected consumer inflation report. December retail sales, released before Thursday’s opening bell, were slightly lower than expected, increasing 0.4% month over month versus the consensus estimate of 0.6%. 2. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported fourth-quarter results that topped estimates, thanks to strong demand for artificial intelligence chips. The company’s sales and capex guidance for Q1 was solid, a good sign for the chip complex. TSMC produces chips for many semiconductor designers, including Club name Nvidia whose stock rose early Thursday, a day after breaking a five-session losing streak. 3. It was a solid fourth quarter from Bank of America , which reported revenue of $25.5 billion versus $25.19 billion expected and earnings per share (EPS) of 82 cents versus 77 cents expected. Net interest income (NII) beat estimates. Investment banking fees were up 44%. BofA guided NII up 6% to 7% year over year in 2025 and non-interest expense to increase 2% to 3%. 4. Morgan Stanley kept the streak going of strong bank earnings, with revenue of $16.22 billion versus $15.03 billion expected and EPS of $2.22 vs. $1.70 expected. Wealth management revenue beat with margins slightly better than expected. Trading revenues beat, and so did NII. 5. Dow stock UnitedHealthcare delivered a mixed quarter, with adjusted EPS topping the analysts’ consensus estimates by 10 cents but sales missing. The medical loss ratio was a little high. The company reaffirmed its 2025 outlook. 6. Club name DuPont pushed up its spin timeline, now targeting Nov. 1 for its electronics business to become a separate publicly traded company. The unit includes semiconductor technologies. However, the planned separation into three was trimmed to two. The water business will remain with DuPont. The company reaffirmed its fourth-quarter and full-year outlook. 7. Another Advanced Micro Devices downgrade: This time it was from Wolfe Research whose analysts went to a hold-equivalent peer perform on lower-than-expected data center graphics processing unit (GPU) revenue this year. Wolfe now anticipates $7 billion in data center GPU sales, down from its prior expectation of more than $10 billion. 8. Target says total sales increased 2.8% in November and December combined, up 2% on a comparable basis but only backs its fourth quarter EPS guidance of $1.85 to $2.45. Shares were lower by more than 3%. 9. JPMorgan adds Ollie’s Bargain Outlet to its analyst focus list after the stock’s pullback. Value-price goods remain in vogue. 10. United Parcel Service was upgraded to buy at Bofa on the potential end of the freight recession in 2025. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
10 things to watch Thursday, Jan. 16
1. The S&P 500 was looking at a muted open Thursday, the morning after its best gain since the election. The 10-year Treasury yield was slightly higher after falling Wednesday in response to a cooler-than-expected consumer inflation report. December retail sales, released before Thursday’s opening bell, were slightly lower than expected, increasing 0.4% month over month versus the consensus estimate of 0.6%.
2.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported fourth-quarter results that topped estimates, thanks to strong demand for artificial intelligence chips. The company’s sales and capex guidance for Q1 was solid, a good sign for the chip complex. TSMC produces chips for many semiconductor designers, including Club name Nvidia whose stock rose early Thursday, a day after breaking a five-session losing streak.
3. It was a solid fourth quarter from Bank of America, which reported revenue of $25.5 billion versus $25.19 billion expected and earnings per share (EPS) of 82 cents versus 77 cents expected. Net interest income (NII) beat estimates. Investment banking fees were up 44%. BofA guided NII up 6% to 7% year over year in 2025 and non-interest expense to increase 2% to 3%.
