My top 10 things to watch Monday, Dec. 18
1. U.S. stocks are higher in premarket trading Monday, with S&P 500 futures up 0.27%. Bond yields edge down, with that of the 10-year Treasury hovering below 4%. Oil prices jump by roughly 2%, with West Texas Intermediate crude trading around $73 a barrel.
2. The yield on Germany’s 10-year Bund is now at 2.09%. Is that where its U.S. counterpart, the 10-year Treasury, is headed? Which would you rather own?
3. Southwest Airlines agrees to a record $140 million civil fine over massive flight cancellations last year that stranded 2 million passengers during the holiday season, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
4. Japan’s Nippon Steel reaches an agreement to buy U.S. Steel in a deal valued at $14.9 billion, or roughly $55 a share. Are all the other steel companies undervalued? This is a huge sea change — just gigantic at the top of the tightening cycle.
5. TD Cowen raises its price target on Club holding Costco Wholesale to $700 a share, up from $680, while reiterating an outperform rating on the stock. The firm argues unit gains can offset lower inflation trends, supporting margins. The retailer last week delivered stellar quarterly results.
6. Wells Fargo downgrades Chubb to an equal-weight rating, from overweight, while lowering its price target on the stock to $240 a share, down from $253. The bank says it’s taking a more “cautious view” on the commercial lines sector.
7. Bank of America raises its price target on Carnival to $22 a share, up from $20, while reiterating a buy rating on the stock. The firm cites steady cruise trends that it argues bode well for 2024.
8. Barclays raises its price target on Affirm to $51 a share, up from $41, while keeping a buy rating on the stock.
9. Bank of America raises its price target on Darden Restaurants to $193 a share, up from $187, and maintains a buy rating on the stock. The firm notes that flat traffic at Darden’s Olive Garden chain was ahead of the casual dining industry and consistent with the company’s outlook.
10. Adobe is abandoning its $20 billion planned acquisition of cloud-based design tool Figma amid regulatory challenges. “There is no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority,” the companies said Monday.
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.