Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Wednesday
Top 10 things to watch on Wednesday, March 4 1. Stock futures are pointing to a fairly higher open this morning, in contrast to yesterday’s sharp declines. The volatility of Tuesday’s session served as another reminder of why investors shouldn’t run away from geopolitical moments. 2. Oil has given up previous gains and is now lower; Global benchmark Brent crude oil fell to roughly $81 per barrel. The high of yesterday’s session was $85.12. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC this morning that the Trump administration plans to make “a series of announcements” to stabilize the flow of oil in the Persian Gulf. In an article we presented to Club members yesterday, we explored the connection between oil and stocks during the Iran war. 3. CrowdStrike, the name of the club, lagged on all key earnings metrics last night, and CEO George Kurtz elegantly explained that AI is a tailwind, not a headwind, because it protects data and broker systems from breaches in real time. It is much more comprehensive than detecting vulnerabilities in software code. Shares are trading flat this morning. While the bear story hasn’t gone away, we’re still big believers in the stock. 4. According to Bloomberg News, Anthropic’s annual revenue exceeded $19 billion. That’s up from $14 billion just a few weeks ago when the AI startup announced a $30 billion funding round. It’s tremendous growth that coincides with the rapid rollout of new AI tools that has spooked investors in software stocks and many other sectors. Anthropic is currently in a fight with the Pentagon. 5. Ross Stores posted better-than-expected profits last night and its shares rose almost 7% in premarket. Same-store sales rose 9% in the holiday quarter, beating the 5.1% consensus, and the company’s guidance on this key metric was also strong. The discount retail model is clearly gaining shoppers’ attention. We have owned TJX Companies, the parent company of Marshalls, for years. 6. Long-struggling retailer Target rolled out two upgrades following its surprisingly positive report on Tuesday. Bernstein backed off the sell, but his $116 price target is a few dollars below where the stock is trading. Telsey Advisory Group maintained a buy stop with a target of $145, betting that new CEO Michael Fiddelke could bring the magic back. 7. Big call: Bank of America resumed coverage of Tesla and upgraded the stock to buy. The analyst called Tesla “the current leader in consumer autonomy” and argued that Elon Musk’s company will quickly scale its robotaxi service into new markets outside San Francisco and Austin. 8. Goldman Sachs raised its price target on oilfield services provider SLB to $60 from $53 and maintained a buy rating on the stock. That’s the only oil and gas name I have here. 9. Total mortgage loan application volume increased by 11% in the last week of February compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Mortgage rates have trended downward over the past month and approached a 4-year low last week. Club name Home Depot needs a sustainable recovery in the housing market. 10. It’s another terrible day for South Korea’s Kospi Index, the hottest stock market in the world. After a 7 percent drop yesterday, today it experienced the worst day in its history with a 12 percent drop. Chip stocks like Samsung make up a large portion of Kospi. I’m watching for any spillovers into parts of our US market, as margin calls are likely a factor. Sign up for free for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter (See here for a complete list of stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) When you subscribe 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 trading alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable foundation’s portfolio. If Jim talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he would wait 72 hours after issuing the trading alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH THE DISCLAIMERS. NO CIVIL OBLIGATIONS OR DUTIES EXIST OR SHALL BE RESULTING FROM YOUR RECEIVING ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO SPECIFIC RESULT OR PROFIT CAN BE GUARANTEED.
