My top 10 things to watch Thursday, Dec. 12 1. The Nasdaq was looking modestly lower Thursday after closing above 20,000 for the first time ever in the prior session. The tech-heavy index jumped nearly 1.8% on Wednesday, boosted by record closes for Tesla as well as Club names Amazon, Meta Platforms , and Alphabet . The S & P 500 closed nearly 1% higher. The Dow, however, dropped for the fifth straight session. 2. A hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation report kept a lid on stocks. The producer price index for November rose 0.4% month over month and 3% on a 12-month basis, versus the Dow Jones estimates of 0.2% and 2.6%, respectively. Traders were still overwhelmingly betting on a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s policy meeting next week. 3. ServiceTitan was set to debut Thursday on the Nasdaq. The company provides cloud software to salt of the Earth contractors, tradespeople like plumbers and painters. ServiceTitan’s initial public offering was priced above the expected range at $71 per share. 4. President-elect Donald Trump rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Is the stock market still a valid gauge of a president’s performance? Has it ever been? One thing I do know is Trump cares about the market more than any other president. 5. Adobe shares sank 11% despite the Photoshop owner making its quarterly numbers. It was a light forecast that investors were focusing on. I am beginning to believe that the competition is taking too big a bite while at the same time Adobe’s creative suite is too expensive. 6 . The Financial Times took an in-depth look at new use cases for GLP-1s, including cravings for drugs and alcohol. Treating Parkinsons and Alzheimer’s are also being studied. GLP-1s have been approved and commercialized for diabetes and weight loss. Novo Nordisk and Club name Eli Lilly make the major ones. 7. Elon Musk, co-head of Trump’s new government efficiency efforts, tweeted : “Nothing would do more to improve the health, lifespan and quality of life for Americans than making GLP inhibitors super low cost to the public.” The statement seems in conflict with weight-loss drug critic RFK Jr., who Trump picked to lead HSS. 8. Deutsche Bank raised its Constellation Brands price target by $1 per share to $260. Kind of a stupid point bump. The liquor market is turning. The Mexican beer brewer is a Club name with great chart. But there’s also tariff risk, with Trump proposing levies of 25% on imports from Mexico. 9. Evercore ISI raised its Lowe’s price target to $290 per share from $270 and kept its in-line hold rating. Bernstein went to $304 and maintained its outperform buy. The analysts at both shops are positive on the stock. Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison will be on “Mad Money” on Thursday evening. The Club owns rival Home Depot . 10. TD Cowen hiked its Amazon price target to $265 per share from $240 and kept its buy rating. The analysts name Amazon a top pick for 2025, seeing more upside in a stock that just closed at an all-time high and up more than 50% year to date. 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.
A trader works at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) next to a U.S. flag, after Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, in New York City, U.S., November 6, 2024.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
My top 10 things to watch Thursday, Dec. 12
1. The Nasdaq was looking modestly lower Thursday after closing above 20,000 for the first time ever in the prior session. The tech-heavy index jumped nearly 1.8% on Wednesday, boosted by record closes for Tesla as well as Club names Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Alphabet. The S&P 500 closed nearly 1% higher. The Dow, however, dropped for the fifth straight session.
2.A hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation report kept a lid on stocks. The producer price index for November rose 0.4% month over month and 3% on a 12-month basis, versus the Dow Jones estimates of 0.2% and 2.6%, respectively. Traders were still overwhelmingly betting on a quarter-point rate cut at the Fed’s policy meeting next week.
3. ServiceTitan was set to debut Thursday on the Nasdaq. The company provides cloud software to salt of the Earth contractors, tradespeople like plumbers and painters. ServiceTitan’s initial public offering was priced above the expected range at $71 per share.
