My top 10 things to watch Monday, Sept. 30 1. Wall Street is on track for slight declines Monday, the last session in what has been a strong, but volatile, third quarter and month of September. Within the Investing Club’s portfolio, our top-performers in the third quarter have all been outside tech. In the week ahead, the September jobs report on Friday morning will be pivotal for the market . 2. Oil prices edged lower Monday despite an escalation of Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Back in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War, there was a four-fold increase in the price of oil because of an Arab-led OPEC embargo. Now there is no embargo and the price oil may be set by the U.S. Back then, the U.S. produced roughly 9.2 million barrels a day. Now? 13.2 million barrels. Russian is also flooding the world with oil to finance its war with Ukraine. Plus, China’s recent stimulus announcements are impacting iron and copper prices, not oil. 3. JPMorgan analysts said demand for Apple ‘s iPhone 16 Pro is starting to overcome a slower start, citing steady lead times for that higher-end model. Morgan Stanley also argued lead times are stabilizing, rather than contracting. In my Sunday column for Club subscribers, I once again urged investors to not trade Apple stock based on lead time reports, which are meaningless. China’s stimulus efforts should help iPhone demand. 4. European auto companies are in free fall as Dodge owner Stellantis trimmed its 2024 guidance, citing challenges that include increase Chinese competition, and Volkswagen negatively revised its operating margin expectations for the second time this year. Meanwhile, shares of luxury automaker Aston Martin tumbled more than 20% Monday on its own profit warning. 5. DirecTV announced an agreement to buy Dish Network from its parent company EchoStar for just $1, but it will assume roughly $9.75 billion of Dish’s debt. Dish bondholders have to take a $1.568 billion haircut for the deal to be approved. The tie-up between these two pay TV providers has been rumored for many years. 6. California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a controversial artificial intelligence safety bill . Proponents of the legislation said it was necessary to protect the public before AI became too advanced. A number of tech companies including Club holding Meta Platforms expressed concerns about the bill. 7. Hedge fund Glenview Capital is reportedly pressuring CVS Health management for changes. I’m not sure that CVS can do more than it is doing now. In a piece for Club members earlier this month, we looked at how Club holding Amazon’s booming business shipping everyday essentials is benefiting from the issues facing drugstore chains. 8. Club name Abbott Laboratories heads to trial in St. Louis this week over its premature baby formula. Abbott lost an earlier trial in late July, and I presume another loss on this one as I have said many times. But it may not impact the stock as much, given that after this trial the jurisdictions for other cases are in much less plaintiff-friendly locations. 9. Morgan Stanley cut its price target on Elf Beauty to $139 a share from $184, while arguing it’s still too early to start buying the stock after its sharp pullback. The beauty category has lately been a tough place for investors to be in. 10. Some price target bumps for Club names: Stifel took GE Healthcare to $102 a share from $100, noting the company received U.S. regulatory approval for a diagnostic agent for heart disease. Meanwhile, TD Cowen took Costco to $975 a share from $925, citing U.S. traffic growth and gross margin performance. We also raised our PT on Costco last week after earnings. 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.
Customers wait outside for the new iPhone 16 and the Apple Watch Series 10 at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store on September 20, 2024 in New York City.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
My top 10 things to watch Monday, Sept. 30
1. Wall Street is on track for slight declines Monday, the last session in what has been a strong, but volatile, third quarter and month of September. Within the Investing Club’s portfolio, our top-performers in the third quarter have all been outside tech. In the week ahead, the September jobs report on Friday morning will be pivotal for the market.
2. Oil prices edged lower Monday despite an escalation of Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Back in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War, there was a four-fold increase in the price of oil because of an Arab-led OPEC embargo. Now there is no embargo and the price oil may be set by the U.S. Back then, the U.S. produced roughly 9.2 million barrels a day. Now? 13.2 million barrels. Russian is also flooding the world with oil to finance its war with Ukraine. Plus, China’s recent stimulus announcements are impacting iron and copper prices, not oil.
3. JPMorgan analysts said demand for Apple‘s iPhone 16 Pro is starting to overcome a slower start, citing steady lead times for that higher-end model. Morgan Stanley also argued lead times are stabilizing, rather than contracting. In my Sunday column for Club subscribers, I once again urged investors to not trade Apple stock based on lead time reports, which are meaningless. China’s stimulus efforts should help iPhone demand.
