10 Things to Watch About the Club Wednesday, Dec. 31 1. It’s the last trading session of 2025 and stock prices are low. The S&P 500 index fell slightly before closing as benchmark indexes headed for a fourth straight loss. Still, the S&P 500 index is up about 17% this year, on track for its third consecutive year of double-digit annual gains. U.S. public markets will be closed on Thursday for New Year’s Day. 2. Meanwhile, the US dollar has had its worst year since 2017. The US dollar has been pressured by concerns about President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his administration’s aggressive push to secure a more dovish Federal Reserve chief appointment in 2026. 3. Reuters reported early this morning that Nvidia has contacted semiconductor manufacturer Taiwan Semi to ramp up production of its H200 chips in response to strong demand from China. According to reports, NVIDIA has ordered more than 2 million H200 chips from China for delivery in 2026, but only has 700,000 on hand. 4. According to the South China Morning Post, ByteDance could be looking to spend up to 100 billion yuan, or $14 billion, on Nvidia’s H200 chips in 2026 if chip imports are allowed. This is a significant increase from the 85 billion yuan, or about $12 billion, spent on Nvidia in 2025. 5. Nike CEO Elliott Hill bought about $1 million worth of company stock, according to a new regulatory filing. This is great news for sneaker and apparel manufacturer shareholders (like us). We believe insider purchases are a sign of management confidence in the company’s future. 6. The People raised Alphabet’s price target from $340 to $385. Analysts reiterated their Buy rating and pointed to further strength in the company’s search business. Citizens also said updates on the tech giant’s custom silicon chip business could provide further upside. We initiated a position in Alphabet this week and believe the stock, which is up 66% this year, has significant upside potential going forward. 7. Mega trades are back in 2025, and late yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that bankers are gearing up for even more deals in 2026. This bodes well for banks like Goldman Sachs. In 2025, there will be a record 68 transactions totaling more than $10 billion, according to LSEG data dating back to 1980. 8. Citi raised its price target on Capital One from $290 to $310, representing an increase of about 27% from Tuesday’s closing price. Analysts expect credit card issuers to beat consensus estimates when they report their fourth-quarter results next month. Citi maintained its buy rating on the stock. 9. Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that the country will achieve its 5% gross domestic product (GDP) growth target in 2025. On the economy, Xi added in his televised New Year’s speech that China must “maintain confidence, seize the momentum and steadily advance high-quality development.” 10. According to a social media post, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said production of the CyberCab is scheduled to ramp up in April. The electric car maker’s stock is up 1% premarket. Sign up for free for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Markets email newsletter. (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club, you’ll receive trade alerts from Jim Cramer before he makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
