My top 10 things to watch Monday, Dec. 22 1. Stocks were headed for a higher open to kick off the holiday-shortened trading week . This follows a volatile week , during which the S & P 500 logged its third winning week in the past four. Still, there’s doubt about whether a “Santa Claus Rally” will actually happen. The New York Stock Exchange will close early on Wednesday for Christmas Eve, and will be closed entirely on Thursday for Christmas Day. 2. Gold soared to another record high earlier this morning. Prices have jumped around 70% since the start of 2025. I now think gold is a better source of wealth than bitcoin . 3. Nvidia shares rose 2% this morning after Reuters reported the company told clients that it hopes to start shipping its H200 chips to China before mid-February. Is there a comeback for the Club stock? Take a look at my Sunday column : I explain why the bear cases for this stock are wrong. 4. OpenAI’s march to $1 trillion: The ChatGPT creator is in talks to raise $100 billion at a $830 billion valuation. That’s up from a $500 billion targeted valuation in the matter of a week. The funding round, when completed, will allow Oracle to finish its data center buildout for OpenAI to keep it competitive with Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence model. 5. Jefferies takes its price target on Club name GE Vernova to $830 from $815. Analysts, who kept a buy rating, updated their sum-of-the-parts valuation to account for share repurchases through 2028. I still think it’s the best way to play the data center story, given GE Vernova’s heavy-duty natural gas turbines can be used to power the facilities beyond the energy grid. 6. In the latest twist in its hostile bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery , Paramount Skydance on Monday guaranteed the backing of billionaire Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison. Earlier this month, Netflix beat out Paramount and Comcast and reached an agreement to buy WBD’s studio and streaming assets. Paramount came back with an unsolicited offer. 7. Clearwater Analytics got a $8.5 billion offer to be purchased by an investor group led by Permira and Warburg Pincus. Underwhelming? Oppenheimer doubts whether any other bidders will emerge and downgraded the investment and accounting software maker to a hold from buy. DA Davidson, which kept its buy rating, thinks other offers are possible. 8. Piper Sandler lowered its E.l.f. Beauty ‘s price target to $85 from $100 but maintained a hold rating. Analysts cited the cosmetic retailer’s slowing market share gains versus competitors. The updated price target still implies nearly 6% upside from Friday’s close. 9. Morgan Stanley raised price targets in the financial services group: Intercontinental Exchange , which operates the NYSE, to $174 from $169; Charles Schwab to $148 from $139; and Robinhood to $147 from $146. The analysts cited robust industry transactions and raised earnings estimates. 10. Rocket Lab goes beyond “Magical Investing” with a successful launch, the 21st perfect launch. Stifel raised its price target to $85 from $75 and kept its buy rating. The analysts cited a contract worth up to $850 million from the government’s Space Development Agency to build satellites. 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.
