My top 10 things to watch Thursday, April 17 1. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing signaled an acceleration in artificial intelligence chips, which was lending support to beat-up chip stocks. TSMC shares jumped more than 3% on a solid first quarter. But the question mark going forward is President Donald Trump’s trade war. 2. TSMC’s quarter called into question who is leading and who is falling back in AI. I no longer think that Club name Microsoft cutting back is a sign that overall demand is slowing. I think it’s a sign that Microsoft’s demand is slowing from an inconsistent and maddening Azure slowdown. 3. Wall Street was heading for a mixed open after yesterday’s terrible session. The Nasdaq was looking higher today as Club name Nvidia stabilized after dropping nearly 7% on the disclosure of a big charge related to the company’s China-specific chip. The Dow , on the other hand, was looking lower on a crushing 19% drop in UnitedHealth shares following an earnings miss. 4. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments yesterday slammed stocks. In a speech, Powell signaled tariffs put the Fed in a tough spot. He expects higher inflation and lower growth but questioned which part of the central bank’s dual mandate to focus on. Powell talked about the future path for interest rates. 5. Trump savagely attacked “too late” Powell, showing the president’s willingness to accept much higher prices for consumers without any check while tightening screws on China. Be careful what you wish for. We can’t have embedded inflation without hurting savers. 6. Eli Lilly ‘s weight-loss pill, as an alternative to injectables, succeeded in a late-stage trial on diabetes patients. Amazing. The Club stock soared more than 12%. This is very big and puts Lilly in a huge lead over others. That’s why CEO David Ricks is building so much new manufacturing capacity. 7. BMO Capital downgraded Lilly rival Novo Nordisk to a market perform hold and cut its price target to $64 per share from $105. The analysts cited Lilly’s pipeline and advancements that have wiped out Novo Nordisk’s first-mover advantage. Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic became the public face of the GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drug craze. 8. In addition to missing on quarterly earnings and revenue, UnitedHealth cut guidance. The problem: Medicare Advantage and misjudgment of use as well as Medicare changes. Other health insurance stocks were also hit, with big drops from peers CVS Health , Cigna , and Humana . 9. Barclays raised its price target on Club name Abbott Laboratories by $1 per share to $159. Oh, give me a break. Why bother. Other Wall Street firms bumped up their PTs more substantially after yesterday’s strong quarter and reaffirmed guidance. Abbott shares were adding to yesterday’s more than 2.5% post-earnings pop. 10. KeyBanc cut its price target on Club name Palo Alto Networks to $205 per share from $240. The analysts, which did keep their overweight buy rating, were worried about guidance given the current economic uncertainty. In general, we think cybersecurity spending should prove more resilient. We also own and like CrowdStrike . We gave our updated views on all 29 portfolio stocks in yesterday’s April Monthly Meeting for Club members. 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.
Signage for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) at it’s fabrication plant in Phoenix, Arizona, US, on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Rebecca Noble | Bloomberg | Getty Images
My top 10 things to watch Thursday, April 17
1.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing signaled an acceleration in artificial intelligence chips, which was lending support to beat-up chip stocks. TSMC shares jumped more than 3% on a solid first quarter. But the question mark going forward is President Donald Trump’s trade war.
2. TSMC’s quarter called into question who is leading and who is falling back in AI. I no longer think that Club name Microsoft cutting back is a sign that overall demand is slowing. I think it’s a sign that Microsoft’s demand is slowing from an inconsistent and maddening Azure slowdown.
3. Wall Street was heading for a mixed open after yesterday’s terrible session. The Nasdaq was looking higher today as Club name Nvidia stabilized after dropping nearly 7% on the disclosure of a big charge related to the company’s China-specific chip. The Dow, on the other hand, was looking lower on a crushing 19% drop in UnitedHealth shares following an earnings miss.
