This week is the last full trading week on Wall Street for the year, and it is packed with key economic and earnings reports. The data will help us sharpen our 2026 market outlook following a wild week for stocks that saw the S & P 500 close at a record high this past Thursday but finish the entire week lower. 1. First up, the economy : The U.S. government is still working its way through the data that was delayed due to the record-long, 43-day federal shutdown. As a result, the big item for investors will be Tuesday morning’s release of the November employment report and October retail sales numbers, as well as Thursday morning’s November consumer price index. According to FactSet, economists are expecting to see an increase of 40,000 nonfarm jobs for November, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.4%. Some of the delayed October data will be included in Tuesday’s print, but there will not be a separate October release. The September jobs report , which was delayed from Oct. 3 and delivered on Nov. 20, showed a larger-than-expected 119,000 jobs added. However, the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, the highest since October 2021. Tuesday morning also brings the government’s October retail sales report. While providing additional insight into the state of consumer activity at the start of the fourth quarter, it’s somewhat outdated, given that management teams have already talked about how their holiday quarter started, and we already got early holiday season sales data. The November consumer price index is out Thursday morning. Given the Federal Reserve opted to cut interest rates last week, investors will want to see evidence that inflation remains largely at bay, even as economists expect to see year-over-year 3.1% readings on both the headline number and the core rate, which excludes food and energy prices. That would be up from the 3% reading seen for both in September. The October CPI release was canceled due to the government shutdown. 2. Turning to earnings : Within the Club portfolio, Nike reports after Thursday’s closing bell. While we don’t expect this to be the cleanest report, given the company is in the midst of a difficult turnaround, we will be looking for signs of improvement. One key area to better understand is inventory. During Friday’s December Monthly Meeting, Jim Cramer said we need to see that CEO Elliott Hill, now roughly 14 months on the job, has made strong progress in clearing out old, out-of-date inventory. Beyond that, it’s about innovation. Jim said that part could still take a while. But anything from management about new and exciting sneakers and/or apparel in the works and plans to restock will be crucial. The Street is looking for Nike to deliver earnings per share (EPS) of 38 cents, on revenue of $12.22 billion, according to consensus estimates compiled by LSEG. While Nike is the only Club name reporting this week, there are a few other noteworthy companies to watch. Homebuilders Lennar , out Tuesday evening, and KB Home , out Thursday evening, will provide additional insights into the state of housing. That could help us better understand Club name Home Depot , since it depends heavily on the real estate market. Micron , out Wednesday, will give us another look at the semiconductor and data center trade. We have a bunch of AI plays in the portfolio, including Broadcom and Nvidia on the chip side, and Amazon and Microsoft on the cloud and data center side. Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse owner Darden , out Thursday morning, should provide insight into how the consumer is feeling and, in turn, spending, while also providing a read-through on Club name Texas Roadhouse . (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long NKE, HD, AVGO, NVDA, AMZN, MSFT, 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.
Here are the 2 big things we’re watching in the stock market this week
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