Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday

By News Room Last updated Aug 1, 2024

My top 10 things to watch on Thursday, Aug. 1 1. The S & P 500 and Nasdaq were tracking for more muted gains Thursday — at least compared to Wednesday’s surges, which saw the indexes jump 1.6% and 2.6%, respectively, in their second-best sessions of 2024. It capped off a July defined by a market rotation out of tech into lagging corners of the market. The Dow had its best month of the year, climbing 4.4%. The S & P added 1.13%, while the Nasdaq lost 0.75%. 2. Wednesday’s rally was not derailed by anything the Federal Reserve did or said after its July policy meeting. While central bankers left interest rates unchanged, as expected, Fed chief Jerome Powell later said a cut could be on the table as soon as September if inflation and economic data keep trending in the right direction. On Thursday, weekly jobless claims were at the highest level in a year. Friday brings the government’s key nonfarm payrolls report. 3. Spending to make Meta AI the best. That’s the takeaway from Wednesday evening’s better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue and analysts’ conference call. Video for next two years will get better and better. Club holding Meta Platforms bought back $6.3 billion worth of stock and saw 3.27 billion daily active users across its family of app including Facebook and Instagram. The stock soared more than 9%. Club name Nvidia orders much bigger than expected? Would Meta take them all? 4. Shares of Arm Holdings dropped 9%. The U.K.-based semiconductor architecture company beat on quarterly earnings and revenue but issued light guidance . Arm noted weakness in several areas that surprised people. During the quarter, Microsoft started selling Surface PCs that draw on Qualcomm’s Arm-based chips. 5. Qualcomm delivered a great second quarter after the bell, beating on earnings and revenue. The chipmaker for mobile and other wireless devices guided the current quarter to $2.45 to $2.65 adjusted earnings per share. Consensus was at the low end of the range. Units look to be flattish or up slightly. Qualcomm shares shot up more than 8% in Wednesday’s tech stock rally ahead of the print. The stock was down less than 1% on Thursday. 6. Club names Apple and Amazon earnings are out after Thursday’s close. For Apple, guidance takes on added importance as the AI-enabled new iPhone is set to be unveiled next month, which is expected to kick off a strong upgrade cycle. For Amazon, we want to see further Amazon Web Services cloud revenue growth and lower cost-to-serve on the retail side of the company’s business. 7. Several Wall Street analysts boosted their price targets on Club name DuPont after Wednesday’s legit quarterly blowout. It is partly driven by growing demand for the material it makes for semiconductors. DuPont’s plan to split into three companies (electronics, water, and a remaining company focused on health care and construction, among other end markets) remains on track to happen over the next year or two. 8. Shares of Club name Eli Lilly popped nearly 4% after a late-stage study showed the drugmaker’s weight loss treatment Zepbound cut heart failure risks. The findings add to mounting evidence that Zepbound and other popular GLP-1s are effective on conditions beyond obesity and diabetes. 9. Goldman Sachs takes Corona and Modelo brewer Constellation Brands off its conviction list. This stock may be the “wrong horse” because beer can’t get any traction even though Constellation’s Mexican beers are doing great. Other beer, wine and spirits companies, including Diageo and Heineken, have recently reported some rough results. Are GLP-1s to blame? 10. Procter & Gamble price targets lowered on the Street after the consumer products giant on Tuesday issued a suboptimal outlook that makes me concerned that we are betting on the wrong horse. The Club stock was tracking for a three-session losing streak if Thursday’s early declines hold by the close. 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.

My top 10 things to watch on Thursday, Aug. 1

1. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were tracking for more muted gains Thursday — at least compared to Wednesday’s surges, which saw the indexes jump 1.6% and 2.6%, respectively, in their second-best sessions of 2024. It capped off a July defined by a market rotation out of tech into lagging corners of the market. The Dow had its best month of the year, climbing 4.4%. The S&P added 1.13%, while the Nasdaq lost 0.75%.

2. Wednesday’s rally was not derailed by anything the Federal Reserve did or said after its July policy meeting. While central bankers left interest rates unchanged, as expected, Fed chief Jerome Powell later said a cut could be on the table as soon as September if inflation and economic data keep trending in the right direction. On Thursday, weekly jobless claims were at the highest level in a year. Friday brings the government’s key nonfarm payrolls report.

3. Spending to make Meta AI the best. That’s the takeaway from Wednesday evening’s better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue and analysts’ conference call. Video for next two years will get better and better. Club holding Meta Platforms bought back $6.3 billion worth of stock and saw 3.27 billion daily active users across its family of app including Facebook and Instagram. The stock soared more than 9%. Club name Nvidia orders much bigger than expected? Would Meta take them all?

4. Shares of Arm Holdings dropped 9%. The U.K.-based semiconductor architecture company beat on quarterly earnings and revenue but issued light guidance. Arm noted weakness in several areas that surprised people. During the quarter, Microsoft started selling Surface PCs that draw on Qualcomm’s Arm-based chips.

5. Qualcomm delivered a great second quarter after the bell, beating on earnings and revenue. The chipmaker for mobile and other wireless devices guided the current quarter to $2.45 to $2.65 adjusted earnings per share. Consensus was at the low end of the range. Units look to be flattish or up slightly. Qualcomm shares shot up more than 8% in Wednesday’s tech stock rally ahead of the print. The stock was down less than 1% on Thursday.

6. Club names Apple and Amazon earnings are out after Thursday’s close. For Apple, guidance takes on added importance as the AI-enabled new iPhone is set to be unveiled next month, which is expected to kick off a strong upgrade cycle. For Amazon, we want to see further Amazon Web Services cloud revenue growth and lower cost-to-serve on the retail side of the company’s business.

7. Several Wall Street analysts boosted their price targets on Club name DuPont after Wednesday’s legit quarterly blowout. It is partly driven by growing demand for the material it makes for semiconductors. DuPont’s plan to split into three companies (electronics, water, and a remaining company focused on health care and construction, among other end markets) remains on track to happen over the next year or two.

8. Shares of Club name Eli Lilly popped nearly 4% after a late-stage study showed the drugmaker’s weight loss treatment Zepbound cut heart failure risks. The findings add to mounting evidence that Zepbound and other popular GLP-1s are effective on conditions beyond obesity and diabetes.

9. Goldman Sachs takes Corona and Modelo brewer Constellation Brands off its conviction list. This stock may be the “wrong horse” because beer can’t get any traction even though Constellation’s Mexican beers are doing great. Other beer, wine and spirits companies, including Diageo and Heineken, have recently reported some rough results. Are GLP-1s to blame?

10. Procter & Gamble price targets lowered on the Street after the consumer products giant on Tuesday issued a suboptimal outlook that makes me concerned that we are betting on the wrong horse. The Club stock was tracking for a three-session losing streak if Thursday’s early declines hold by the close.

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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.

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