Jim Cramer’s top things to watch in the stock market Wednesday: Banking risk re-examined and markets sink

My top 10 things to watch Wednesday, March 15 1. Systemic risk re-examined one day after Tuesday’s Wall Street bounce following three sessions of SVB-sparked concerns. Saudi National Bank will not put more money into Credit Suisse (CS) whose shares sank nearly 30% early Wednesday. Very big impact on bonds and stocks in Europe (down over 2.5%) and the U.S. (down 2% premarket). 2. The Dow , the S & P 500 and the Nasdaq set for sharply lower open as the Credit Suisse plunge drags down U.S. bank stocks early Wednesday, including Club holdings Wells Fargo (WFC) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Investors also digesting cooler-than-expected February producer price data after Tuesday’s as-expected consumer price print. February retail sales, out Wednesday, matched estimates. The largely positive economic data not able to help stocks. 3. The market still puts over 50% odds on a quarter-point Fed interest rate increase. The debate centers around worries about making the banking problems worse with even a small hike and the risk of heating up slower-growing but still-elevated inflation by not hiking. 4. BlackRock letter distilled: CEO Larry Fink doubles down on need to know real risks including climate change. Minority shareholders still focused on returns. Pro-crypto if it’s regulated. Is that an endorsement or a contradiction? Inflation not under control. Stricter capital requirements for banks post-SVB. Might be another domino, more than duration risk. Liquidity mismatches. 5. Wednesday is the first day of unfettered commerce with China, as exporters can meet with the Chinese to assess actual demand. It’s the beginning of the official post-Covid reopening. Any step toward getting the world’s second-largest economy back up and running is good news for our China-tied stocks, including Starbucks (SBUX), Estee Lauder (EL) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN). 6. More predictable price bumps for Meta Platforms (META). The consensus is CEO Mark Zuckerberg recognizes that he had too many people. Is next a closing of all New York operations through payments to get out of leases? Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” resulted in Tuesday’s announcement of 10,000 more layoffs and a decision not to hire 5,000 open positions. (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.

1. Systemic risk re-examined one day after Tuesday’s Wall Street bounce following three sessions of SVB-sparked concerns. Saudi National Bank will not put more money into Credit Suisse (CS) whose shares sank nearly 30% early Wednesday. Very big impact on bonds and stocks in Europe (down over 2.5%) and the U.S. (down 2% premarket).

2. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq set for sharply lower open as the Credit Suisse plunge drags down U.S. bank stocks early Wednesday, including Club holdings Wells Fargo (WFC) and Morgan Stanley (MS). Investors also digesting cooler-than-expected February producer price data after Tuesday’s as-expected consumer price print. February retail sales, out Wednesday, matched estimates. The largely positive economic data not able to help stocks.

3. The market still puts over 50% odds on a quarter-point Fed interest rate increase. The debate centers around worries about making the banking problems worse with even a small hike and the risk of heating up slower-growing but still-elevated inflation by not hiking.

4. BlackRock letter distilled: CEO Larry Fink doubles down on need to know real risks including climate change. Minority shareholders still focused on returns. Pro-crypto if it’s regulated. Is that an endorsement or a contradiction? Inflation not under control. Stricter capital requirements for banks post-SVB. Might be another domino, more than duration risk. Liquidity mismatches.

5. Wednesday is the first day of unfettered commerce with China, as exporters can meet with the Chinese to assess actual demand. It’s the beginning of the official post-Covid reopening. Any step toward getting the world’s second-largest economy back up and running is good news for our China-tied stocks, including Starbucks (SBUX), Estee Lauder (EL) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).

6. More predictable price bumps for Meta Platforms (META). The consensus is CEO Mark Zuckerberg recognizes that he had too many people. Is next a closing of all New York operations through payments to get out of leases? Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” resulted in Tuesday’s announcement of 10,000 more layoffs and a decision not to hire 5,000 open positions.

(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.