There's one question on everybody's mind entering the new trading week: Where are artificial intelligence stocks going next? The engine of the four-year-old bull market is coming off a bruising week, sparked by the midterm elections, when gubernatorial candidates who support restrictions on data center development won big in states like Texas and Ohio. Voters across the country also approved local ballot measures that could slow the pace of AI investment and construction. As Jim Cramer made clear at Friday's Annual Meeting, this is a real risk to the future earnings of chipmakers, electrical equipment suppliers and other companies with brimming order books to support the AI buildout. We take it seriously and may need to make further adjustments to our stock portfolio to reduce AI exposure.
This headwind didn't blow in from nowhere. It's why we exited Corning in early September and Broadcom in late October, and two months ago initiated positions in the non-tech stocks of Kimberly-Clark and Bank of New York. The upshot after such a whirlwind week for the market? No Club holdings are reporting in the coming days and the economic calendar is also fairly light. Here's a closer look at what to expect:
1. AI earnings: Neocloud CoreWeave's earnings report on Tuesday night will help determine whether the AI trade can regain momentum. Even before the election, we've been paying close attention to CoreWeave's bonds and stock as a barometer for souring investor appetite for AI names. How the market responds to CoreWeave's results and commentary on the conference call could have far-reaching implications. "That's going to be the one," Jim said at the Annual Meeting. "You either believe [CEO Michael Intrator] and you see the stock go up and you realize that the AI trade is on. Or you don't believe Michael and the stock plummets, and it'll be a really bad day. ... CoreWeave is so important. It's insanely important."
On Thursday morning, CoreWeave's peer in the neocloud game, Nebius, delivers earnings of its own. And that evening, networking giant Cisco Systems and chipmaking equipment supplier Applied Materials will release quarterly results. Both companies are also cogs in the AI trade, so they're firmly on our radar alongside CoreWeave and Nebius.
2. Inflation and Fed speakers: Inflation — and the Federal Reserve's response to it — will also be front and center this week. The October consumer price index is due out Tuesday morning, followed by the producer price index on Friday. As of Sunday, traders are pricing in 78% odds for a quarter-point hike at the Fed's December meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Hot inflation data will likely prompt the market to price in additional tightening ahead, especially in light of an October jobs report on Friday that illustrated the resilience of the U.S. economy. In addition, a number of central bankers are set to give public remarks throughout the week, and their speeches carry market-moving potential of their own. Consider what happened in the runup to the Fed's October meeting, when New York Fed President John Williams said on Sept. 29 that he saw "no need for urgency" on another hike. The market had been pricing hikes at both the October and December meetings, but that shifted to just one additional hike after Williams' comments hit the tape. So, we need to pay attention to both the inflation reports and all the Fedspeak coming our way. Among them, we'll hear from Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Tuesday and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack on Thursday. Both central bankers are voting members of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year.
Week ahead Monday, Nov. 9 Wholesale inventories (final) at 10 a.m. ET Before the bell: Ferguson Enterprises Inc. (FERG), Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG), NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG), Barrick Mining Corporation (B), CNH Industrial N.V. (CNH), Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz (KSPI), Somnigroup International (SGI), Dole plc (DOLE), KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR), RB Global (RBA) After the bell: JBS N.V. (JBS), Skydance Corporation (SKYD), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY), BitGo Holdings (BTGO), Sanmina Corporation (SANM), Credicorp, Ltd. (BAP), Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO)
Tuesday, Nov. 10 Consumer price index at 8:30 a.m. ET Before the bell: Sea Limited (SE), Venture Global, Inc. (VG), TransDigm Group Incorporated (TDG), On Holding AG (ONON), Sally Beauty Holdings (SBH), Brightstar Lottery PLC (BRSL), Wix.com Ltd. (WIX) After the bell: Ecopetrol S.A. (EC), CoreWeave (CRWV), Telefônica Brasil S.A. (VIV), Grocery Outlet, Inc. (GO)
Wednesday, Nov. 11 Before the bell: CGI Group (GIB), ICL Group (ICL), Boyd Group Services (BGSI) After the bell: Corteva (CTVA), Tetra Tech (TTEK), EnerSys (ENS), CAE Inc. (CAE)
Thursday, Nov. 12 Initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. ET Existing home sales at 10 a.m. ET Before the bell: Arcos Dorados Holdings (ARCO), ADI Global Distribution (ADIG), Legence Corp. (LGN), SOLV Energy (MWH), NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ), Azul (AZUL), Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS) After the bell: Cisco Systems (CSCO), Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT), Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU), Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (SID), Stantec (STN), Flowers Foods (FLO)
Friday, Nov. 13 Producer price index at 8:30 a.m. ET (See here for a full list of the stocks in 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.
