My top 10 things to watch Wednesday, Oct. 2 1. Wall Street on Wednesday is set to extend the tough start to October, one day after Iran’s missile attack on Israel heightened Mideast tensions. Oil and natural gas prices were up again. However, there was a bright spot before the bell: Hiring at U.S. companies, according to ADP, was better than expected in September. Investors are handicapping what Friday’s monthly employment report from the government might bring and mean for the pace of further Fed interest rates cuts. 2. Saudi Arabia has signaled to fellow OPEC+ members that $50 oil could be in the cards if other members in the production cartel don’t abide by production-cut agreements, The Wall Street Journal reported . Given that Iran is pumping full out at 4 million barrels a day, is this a signal that Israel can take on Iran in some way that had been unthinkable? Or that the Biden administration needs to do what the Trump White House did and almost shut down oil production? 3. Nike ‘s quarter was just terrible in pretty much every nook and cranny. It’s rather amazing how management ran it down. Running, basketball, you name it. Sales dropped 10% annually, and execs withdrew guidance. Trying to re-ascend will be tough, but they did it in 2010. Incoming CEO Elliott Hill, a Nike veteran who takes over Oct. 14, has big shoes to fill. 4. Success for Hill would likely be good for Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods . The company has to do better with retailers like that following years of direct-to-consumer emphasis. Nike’s digital sales were down 20% in the quarter. Jordan sneakers are in a glut, too. Price point is too high. I am even wondering if we have hit the high point of e-commerce for big ticket items. 5. Chipotle is advancing with Scott Boatwright as interim CEO without missing a beat. Its first location in Dubai opens Wednesday in partnership with franchise operator Alshaya Group, a well-studied, but highly unusual arrangement for Chipotle. International expansion is now on target giving the burrito chain a much faster growth path. Still, there is macro resistance to higher prices for everyone in markets like California, Chief Strategy Officer Jack Hartung told me in a “Mad Money” interview. New Honey Chicken is testing extremely well in Nashville and Sacramento. These things really matter. 6. Spice maker McCormick is at an inflection point back to growth. Total volumes finally saw growth again. The stock may look expensive at more than 27 times forward earnings, but that’s not the case if its turn is for real, and I think it is. Among the things McCormick has going for it? Gen Z consumers who want to recreate restaurant-quality meals at home and no price substantive price increases. 7. Club name Salesforce was upgraded to a buy-equivalent outperform rating Northland Capital Markets with a price target of $400 a share. This call makes sense. Salesforce’s new AI offering known as Agentforce may the most popular product co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff has ever launched. Northland is the latest research shop to praise on Agentforce’s potential. As we told Club members last week , Salesforce appears to have found its AI footing at last. 8. Are surging Chinese tech stocks JD.com , PDD Holdings and Alibaba taking all the hot money from the likes of Nvidia , Apple and Amazon ? I think so. Let it go out, and be patient with shares of those American tech giants, which we own for the Club. It will be hard for them to advance when the money is coming out and going to other stocks that are hotter. 9. Shares of Humana are getting crushed Wednesday by nearly 20% after the health insurer said enrollment fell sharply for 2025 in Medicare Advantage plans rated 4 stars or above, putting pressure on its 2026 revenue outlook. The main reason is a pending rating change for its biggest plan, Humana said. Once a hot area for health-care investors, Medicare Advantage has become a rough place to be. 10. Wolfe Research upgraded Sphere Entertainment to a buy from hold. The owner of the Sphere concert venue in Las Vegas is an interesting, overlooked growth stock. It’s moving on Wolfe’s call, too, up more than 2% Wednesday. 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 . 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My top 10 things to watch Wednesday, Oct. 2
1. Wall Street on Wednesday is set to extend the tough start to October, one day after Iran’s missile attack on Israel heightened Mideast tensions. Oil and natural gas prices were up again. However, there was a bright spot before the bell: Hiring at U.S. companies, according to ADP, was better than expected in September. Investors are handicapping what Friday’s monthly employment report from the government might bring and mean for the pace of further Fed interest rates cuts.
2. Saudi Arabia has signaled to fellow OPEC+ members that $50 oil could be in the cards if other members in the production cartel don’t abide by production-cut agreements, The Wall Street Journal reported. Given that Iran is pumping full out at 4 million barrels a day, is this a signal that Israel can take on Iran in some way that had been unthinkable? Or that the Biden administration needs to do what the Trump White House did and almost shut down oil production?
3. Nike‘s quarter was just terrible in pretty much every nook and cranny. It’s rather amazing how management ran it down. Running, basketball, you name it. Sales dropped 10% annually, and execs withdrew guidance. Trying to re-ascend will be tough, but they did it in 2010. Incoming CEO Elliott Hill, a Nike veteran who takes over Oct. 14, has big shoes to fill.
