Rising bond yields and oil prices have put pressure on stocks this week, while AI trading volatility has risen again, testing investors’ confidence in the market’s biggest growth theme. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended their three-week winning streak and fell about 1.43% and 2.05%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.85%. Much of the pressure has come from the bond market, where long-term yields have soared to levels not seen in nearly two decades as tensions with Iran have pushed up oil prices and reignited concerns about persistent inflation. The Ministry of Finance made an unprecedented announcement on Wednesday morning that it would more than double the size of its long-term government bond buybacks. Initially, yields fell and stock prices rose due to the initial public offering, but Jim characterized this as an effort to keep the stock market rising. But the relief was short-lived, as yields rose again on Thursday and Friday as rising oil prices continued to raise concerns about inflation. It was also an eventful week for the AI industry, likely influenced by a series of headlines about political backlash against data centers. This includes an executive order issued by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday that imposes strict standards for any development in the state. Jim questioned Friday whether these restrictions on data center development would lead to significant construction delays or whether they amounted primarily to election year rhetoric. The uncertainty hit infrastructure stocks particularly hard, with GE Vernova and Eaton falling 10% and 7.2%, respectively, for the week. We took advantage of that weakness and bought more shares of GE Bellnova on Tuesday, but the stock continued to fall from there. Let’s take a closer look at the factors that moved the market this week. Broadcom competition and new names to watch Broadcom shares fell 4% on Wednesday after Broadcom’s biggest rival, Marvell Technology, announced a broader partnership with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, a major customer for custom chips. Broadcom has been co-designing Google’s tensor processing units (TPUs) for years. Currently, Marvell has contracts to provide various technologies related to Google’s TPU ecosystem. The deal confirmed concerns that Google would increasingly diversify its suppliers. We were hoping that Broadcom would get the business, but not give up the stock. But this confirms why Jim ranked Nvidia, Intel, and Micron higher than Broadcom among our chip holdings at our monthly meeting last week. On Friday, Broadcom was in the news again, with Bloomberg reporting that the company was in talks to raise more than $60 billion in debt for AI financing deals. The deal includes creating a special purpose vehicle that would use borrowed funds to buy Broadcom chips and then lease them to tenants such as Anthropic, according to Bloomberg. While the increased reliance on debt financing to fund AI builds requires scrutiny, the sheer size of the numbers also speaks to the level of demand for AI infrastructure. Broadcom stock rose on Friday, but remained on track to drop about 6.2% for the week. Elsewhere in semiconductors, CEO Anirudh Devgan added Cadence Design Systems to the bullpen on Thursday following his appearance on “Mad Money.” Cadence provides software and other tools used in semiconductor design. The company works closely with Club Holdings Nvidia and Broadcom, while its relationship with Intel has expanded under CEO Lip Vu Tan, who previously led Cadence. In June, Cadence and Intel Foundry announced a multi-year agreement that combines Cadence’s AI-powered design tools with Intel’s manufacturing technology. Cadence stock has fallen about 23% from its high in early June, partly due to concerns that AI could disrupt traditional chip design software. Cadence thinks the opposite. Agent AI is likely to increase in demand by promoting the use of its tools. Whether AI ultimately disrupts or accelerates Cadence’s business is the main reason we’re interested in the bullpen stock. Memory pullback does not shake our belief Memory stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, continuing volatile trading for some of the market’s biggest AI winners this year. We founded Micron on August 11, and the stock remains one of our biggest conviction AI stocks, as we prefer Micron over SanDisk, Seagate, and Western Digital. Jim visited Micron’s new large-scale semiconductor manufacturing facility in Boise, Idaho, on Thursday to see the opportunity firsthand. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra reinforced Jim’s view that this memory cycle may be different from the boom-and-bust eras that have historically defined the industry. AI is making memory increasingly important to overall system performance. This means customers work with suppliers early in the design process, rather than simply buying from the lowest bidder. At the same time, long-term contracts with customers have given Micron greater visibility into future demand, including the 16 deals disclosed in June and many more signed since then. We believe this cycle may be more durable than those in the past, as customers have committed to supply for years and memory manufacturers remain disciplined in adding capacity. Retail Earnings Roundup This was a busy week for retail earnings, both within the portfolio and across the market. Home Depot started Tuesday with what Jim calls its “best quarter in five years.” Profits and sales exceeded expectations, with same-store sales up 1.7%, nearly double expectations. Jim said this quarter was particularly “fantastic” considering management described the U.S. housing market as “frozen”. Although rising U.S. Treasury yields have kept mortgage rates high and housing market activity low, Home Depot continues to execute within its control and is well-positioned for an eventual recovery. Home Depot’s results outperformed its main rival, Lowe’s, announced the next day, benefiting from the company’s growing footprint serving professional contractors. The situation for TJX Companies on Wednesday was more complicated. Overall revenue, profit and same-store sales beat expectations, but margins at MarMax, the company’s largest division and home to TJ Maxx and Marshalls, rose just 1% compared to expectations of 3%. Chief Executive Officer Ernie Herman said the merchandising problems were “self-inflicted and within our control” and that trends were already improving. We believe this problem is not structural and solvable, and we used Friday’s weakness to strengthen our position. Harman’s strong track record also gives us confidence to stick with the stock. Other results painted a different picture for consumers. Walmart plunged 9% on Thursday after disappointing U.S. comparable sales and earnings guidance, although Jim argued that high gas prices and the company’s decision to prioritize low prices and market share gains made the quarter more nuanced than the headline numbers suggest. Target’s results also highlighted pressure on discretionary spending, but the company’s turnaround under CEO Michael Fidelke still made significant progress in the quarter. There were other bright spots as well. Ross Stores rebounded after beating expectations and issuing strong guidance, while BJ’s Wholesale beat expectations and raised its full-year profit outlook. (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. 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