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

1. U.S. companies added 164,000 jobs in December, according to the latest ADP private-sector data. Beat expectations for 130,000. ADP has had a mixed track record as an indicator of the government’s monthly employment report, which is out Friday. Weekly jobless claims for last week of 2023 of 202,000 were lower than estimates.
2. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set for a mixed open Thursday. It seemed like nothing was working in the market Wednesday as the Dow joined the new year rough patch that’s punishing 2023 tech winners. I talked about how to handle this type of market in Wednesday’s Homestretch.
3. Apple is working on a four-session losing streak Thursday after a downgrade to neutral from overweight (hold from buy) at Piper Sandler. The analysts cited broader handset weakness and cut their price target to $205 per share from $220. Barclays’ downgrade Tuesday knocked the Club stock down more than 3.5%.
4. Club name Eli Lilly launches a new website to offer its recently approved weight-loss drug Zepbound directly to consumers. LillyDirect joins platforms like Weight Watchers and Ro offering weight loss drugs through telehealth.
5. Walgreens Boots Alliance reports quarterly earnings of 66 cents per share versus 61 cents expected. Revenue beat too. But the pharmacy giant cut quarterly dividend nearly in half to 25 cents per share. Wentworth magic? CEO Tim Wentworth officially took the helm during the quarter.
6. Microsoft is adding a Copilot key to keyboards on upcoming Windows PCs so users can have conversations with the AI virtual assistant. It’s the biggest keyboard change since the Windows key was added in 1994 to launch the Start menu.
7. Microchip Technology gets $162 million from the Commerce Department to boost domestic production at two plants for legacy semiconductors. Microcontrollers used by miliary as well as autos, household appliances and medical devices. KeyBanc likes Club name Nvidia as well as Advanced Micro Devices and Micron. Bernstein boosts chip designer Broadcom price target to $1,250 per share from $1,150. Keeps outperform (buy) rating).
8. Bank of America research analysts raise Morgan Stanley price target to $100 per share from $95. Keeps buy rating.
9. Club holding Ford raises F-150 Lightning prices to $54,995 from $49,995. Cheapest version of Telsa’s Cybertruck is $60,990.
10. Online holiday spending grew 4.9% this year to a record $221.1 billion, according to Adobe Analytics data. The strength was driven by cost-conscious consumers taking advantage of big discounts and buy now, pay later. Bernstein raises TJX Companies price target to $107 per share from $100. Keeps outperform (buy) rating. Club name TJX is behind T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods off-price chains.

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