Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the market Wednesday: Santa coming? Nike pops.

Published Wed, Dec 21 20229:02 AM ESTUpdated Wed, Dec 21 20229:05 AM EST

My top 10 things to watch Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022 1. U.S. stock futures point to a higher open after the Dow Jones Industrial Average , the S & P 500 and the Nasdaq broke four-session losing streaks. Is Santa Claus coming to town? Historically, the final five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year tend to be strong. According to chartist Larry Williams , Thursday may be the time to buy. 2. Dow stock Nike (NKE) jumps more than 12% in the premarket after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised guidance. Drivers: China is not dead yet and the power of inventory and brand management. Profit margin expanding. Multiple price target increases on Wall Street. 3. FedEx (FDX) shares rose more than 6% in premarket trading after the company said it would cut $1 billion more in costs. Quarterly results were mixed. Time to make money per every package. Goal is profit margin. JPMorgan acknowledges "relief rally" but cuts its price target. Others raise PTs. 4. Jefferies goes to hold from buy on Club holding Starbucks (SBUX). Why downgrade when China is about to take off as it loosens strict Covid mitigation policies? Seems very foolish to me. 5. China's economy coming back does NOT mean 2 million barrels of oil per day. It's more like 2 million gallons a day. Russia can supply that no problem. So predictions of huge crude spikes seem off. Our big oil stock dividends from the likes of Devon Energy (DVN), Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) and Coterra Energy (CTRA) need around $70 per barrel. Plenty of room with crude at $78. 6. Deutsche Bank lowers price target on Tesla (TSLA) to $270 per share from $355; keeps buy rating. Come on, get realistic. The stock, which becomes part of the S & P 500 before the open, closed Tuesday at about $138. Analysts at Deutsche Bank say the PT cut reflects "near-term challenging narrative, which is compounded by noise from the recent Twitter acquisition." 7. Citi says Club holding Apple (AAPL) is down too far versus the risks. Analysts there say that despite December quarter supply constraints, demand for Apple's devices and services should hold up during 2023. Regulatory concern overhangs Big Tech, including Apple, but Citi says that's "headline risk rather than fundamental risk." 8. Chipmaker Micron Technology (MU) reports its quarter after the closing bell Wednesday. Can the inventory glut really be over this fast in light of the poor sales of PCs? We'll be looking for read-throughs to our semiconductors stocks Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Qualcomm (QCOM.) 9. Gordon Haskett downgrades Target (TGT) to hold from buy, with a $132-per-share price target; cites "meaningfully eroded traffic." Stiffel cuts PT to $175 from $195; says its survey shows slowing spending trends. In retail, we like and own off-price retailer TJX Companies (TJX) behind the T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods brand stores. 10. Wedbush downgrades Papa John's International (PZZA) to neutral from outperform (hold from buy) but raises price target to $92 per share from $85. Analysts downgrade Shake Shack (SHAK) and Jack in the Box (JACK). Interesting because labor is getting easier. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long SBUX, DVN, PXD, CTRA, AAPL, NVDA, AMD, QCOM, TJX. 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.

My top 10 things to watch Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022

1. U.S. stock futures point to a higher open after the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq broke four-session losing streaks. Is Santa Claus coming to town? Historically, the final five trading days of the year and the first two of the new year tend to be strong. According to chartist Larry Williams, Thursday may be the time to buy.

2. Dow stock Nike (NKE) jumps more than 12% in the premarket after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised guidance. Drivers: China is not dead yet and the power of inventory and brand management. Profit margin expanding. Multiple price target increases on Wall Street.

3. FedEx (FDX) shares rose more than 6% in premarket trading after the company said it would cut $1 billion more in costs. Quarterly results were mixed. Time to make money per every package. Goal is profit margin. JPMorgan acknowledges "relief rally" but cuts its price target. Others raise PTs.