Here are 5 key events that drove the stock market last week
Stocks finished higher Friday, lifted by the volatile artificial intelligence trade, leading the market to the upside for the week. The S & P 500 eked out a 0.1% weekly gain, while the Nasdaq gained 0.5%. While logging three positive weeks in the past four, the indexes were still modestly lower for the seasonally strong month of December. It was anxiety over AI funding issues on Oracle ‘s data center projects and broader concerns about the levels of AI-related spending that kept investors guessing lately. .SPX .IXIC 5D mountain S & P 500 and Nasdaq 5-session performance After sharp losses earlier in the week, the market rebounded Thursday, lifted as shares of Micron Technology rallied 7% to record highs, following blowout earnings from the memory solutions provider the prior evening. Oracle saved face Friday, with shares rising more than 6.5% after TikTok agreed to sell its U.S. operations to a new joint venture, which includes the software and cloud infrastructure giant and private equity group Silver Lake. Oracle shares were modestly lower for the week. Here are five significant moments that drove the market last week. 1. AI chip makers Nvidia was one of our standouts Friday, with shares of the leading AI chip name finishing up 3.4% for the week. The U.S. government launched a formal review that could result in the first shipments to China of Nvidia’s second-most powerful H200 chips. In terms of valuation, Nvidia is now trading at 23.5 times fiscal 2027 earnings estimates. That’s cheap for a stock with an average five-year multiple of more than 70 times. That strength carried fellow Club holding Broadcom higher Friday. However, the designer of custom chips could not overcome big losses Monday and Wednesday and 5.4% for the week. 2. Nike earnings Nike delivered better than expected fiscal 2026 second quarter earnings and revenue, with its turnaround gaining traction in North America. However, worsening China sales and a disappointing fiscal Q3 guide crushed the stock by 10.5% on Friday, which capped off four straight sessions of losses. Nike shares lost 13% for the week. Jim Cramer called Nike’s post-earnings stock drop a buying opportunity , expressing confidence in CEO Elliott Hill’s ability to right the ship. After Thursday evening’s print, we reiterated our buy-equivalent 1 rating but trimmed our price target to $75 from $80. 3. Capital One trim We trimmed our position in Capital One into strength Friday, booking a solid 36% gain on shares purchased in March. The credit card issuer’s stock, which closed at a record high Thursday, has rallied 20% since the close on Nov. 20, outperforming the S & P 500′s gain of about 3.5% over the same time frame. The sale does not change our investing thesis. We remain bullish on Capital One into 2026, seeing benefits from its Discover acquisition and increased share buybacks. The day before the trade, we increased our Capital One price target to $270 from $250. But, we downgraded our rating to a hold-equivalent 2. 4. Texas Roadhouse buy We added to our position in Texas Roadhouse Wednesday. Despite the narrative that the consumer is weakening, the company has been a bright spot in the restaurant category. It has exhibited consistent performance in comparable sales, stemming from its competitive pricing despite balancing the headwind from higher beer prices. 5. Costco trim On Tuesday, we cut our position in Costco in half as the stock has been struggling in a difficult retail backdrop. We decided to take action after the membership-only retailer delivered another mixed quarter on Dec. 11, with renewal rates dipping in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 sequentially from the prior quarter. We’re concerned that a slowdown in renewal rates could weigh on earnings growth. The company’s monthly sales have also been lukewarm, with a pullback in non-food purchases. We realized a 200% gain on shares purchased in early 2020. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long NVDA, AVGO, NKE, COF, COST, TXRH. See here for a full list of the stocks.) 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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