Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday

Cnbc · Aug 20, 2026 · 809 words · By Jim Cramer

Retail Sector Performance Market Volatility AI Economic Impact

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What to know about Retail Sector Performance

We're heading for a lower open, with the decline in futures picking up steam this morning.

Claims checked 14

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

We're heading for a lower open, with the decline in futures picking up steam this morning.

Why it matters

The S & P 500 yesterday snapped its three-day losing streak, though the index closed well off its highs of the day.

Common ground

The rally fueled by the Treasury Department's bond-buying announcement lost momentum as the day went along.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Glittering Generalities: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Retail Sector Performance story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Piper Sandler hiked its price target on Best Buy to $85 from $77?
How does this story connect Retail Sector Performance with Market Volatility over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/20/jim-cramers-top-10-things-to-watch-in-the-stock-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Glittering Generalities 70% confidence

Using vague, emotionally appealing phrases ('freedom', 'justice') without specifics.

Why it matters: Recognizing glittering generalities helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 4

verified Verified By Reference 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 2

verified Verified 1

check_circle Corroborated 1

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Claim 1: “Piper Sandler hiked its price target on Best Buy to $85 from $77”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 2: “RBC Capital Markets downgraded the drugmaker to hold from buy”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided contains general information about RBC Capital Markets and other banks, but no specific mention of a rating downgrade for Merck from 'buy' to 'hold'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America; often abbreviated BAC, BofA, or, less commonly, BOA) is an American multinational bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Ban…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_America

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. is a public corporate services and financial technology company. Headquartered in Lake Success, New York, the company was founded in 2007 as a spin-off from Autom…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadridge_Financial_Solutions

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Raymond James Financial, Inc. is an American multinational independent investment bank and financial services company providing financial services to individuals, corporations, and municipalities thro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_James_Financial

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 3: “Citi went to $260 from $267 [for Lowe's]”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim in the provided search results.

verified

Claim 4: “UBS went to $275 from $285 [for Lowe's]”

VERIFIED

A web search result explicitly states: 'Lowe’s price target lowered to $275 from $285 at UBS'.

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web search NEUTRAL — Lowe’s price target lowered to $275 from $285 at UBS.
https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/low/

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web search NEUTRAL — Investing.com - UBS lowered its price target on Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW) to $316.00 from $325.00 on Thursday, while maintaining a Buy rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.Telsey also revised its t…
https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/ubs-lowers-lo…

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web search NEUTRAL — UBS maintains its Neutral rating on Humana HUM while significantly lowering the price target. The updated price target of $195 reflects a 31.58% decrease from the previous $285.
https://www.gurufocus.com/news/8611831/humana-hum-ubs-lowers…

info

Claim 5: “Morgan Stanley... upgrading to buy from hold”

SINGLE SOURCE

One source (Benzinga) mentions Morgan Stanley's rating for Merck, but it describes it as 'Equal-Weight' rather than an upgrade to 'buy' from 'hold'. No other sources confirm the specific upgrade claimed.

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web search NEUTRAL — Barclays Sticks to Its Buy Rating for Merck KGaA (0O14).Merck KGaA has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy, which is based on 7 buy ratings, 1 hold ratings and 1 sell ratings.
https://www.tipranks.com/stocks/de:mrk/forecast

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web search NEUTRAL — * Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Morgan Stanley keeps a Equal-Weight rating on Merck & Co with a target price of $102. * Showing optimism, an analyst from BMO Capital upgrades its rat…
https://www.benzinga.com/insights/options/25/12/49570455/che…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Is Merck stock a Buy, Sell or Hold? Merck stock has received a consensus rating of buy. The average rating score is Aa3 and is based on 37 buy ratings, 20 hold ratings, and 0 sell ratings.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/mrk-stock

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Claim 6: “Walmart... reported disappointing Q2 same-store sales, or comps, growth of 2.6%”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provided consists of general Wikipedia and corporate home page information for Walmart, with no mention of Q2 same-store sales or a 2.6% growth figure.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Walmart Inc.[b] is an American multinational omnichannel retail corporation [c] that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, grocery stores, pharmacies…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walmart

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web search NEUTRAL — Shop Walmart.com today for Every Day Low Prices. Join Walmart+ for unlimited free delivery from your store & free shipping with no order minimum. Start your free 30-day trial now!
https://www.walmart.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Shop for null. Buy products such as Airthings Corentium Home Radon Detector 2350 Portable, Lightweight, Easy-to-Use, (3) AAA Battery Operated, USA Version, pCi/L at Walmart and save.
https://www.walmart.com/browse

verified

Claim 7: “The S & P 500 yesterday snapped its three-day losing streak”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence consists of general Wikipedia definitions of the S&P 500 and the letter 'S', but contains no data regarding the index's performance or a 'three-day losing streak' on the specific date mentioned.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — S&P Dow Jones Indices updates the components of the S&P 500 periodically, typically in response to mergers and acquisitions, corporate spin-offs, or in conjunction with the quarterly rebalancing. Betw…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_components_of_the_S…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The S&P 500 is a stock market index maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It comprises 503 common stocks which are issued by 500 companies with large market capitalizations, including two share classes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_S&P_500_companies

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The S&P 500 (Standard and Poor's 500) is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States that are considered to have large market ca…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S&P_500

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “SK Hynix... announced a $29 billion buyback”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 9: “Michael Fiddelke to lead Target's turnaround”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found for this claim in the provided search results.

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Claim 10: “Samsung will announce a new shareholder return policy worth about $72 billion later this month, Korean news outlet MoneyToday reported”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 11: “The yield on the 30-year Treasury is creeping higher this morning. Same with the 20-year and 10-year.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While there is general information about Treasury yields and one specific yield from September 2026, there is no evidence provided regarding the movement of 10, 20, and 30-year yields on the morning of August 20.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent ( BESS-ənt; born August 21, 1962) is an American businessman, financial commentator, and government official serving since 2025 as the 79th United States secretary of the t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bessent

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — United States Treasury securities, also called Treasuries or Treasurys, are government debt instruments issued by the United States Department of the Treasury to finance government spending as a suppl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Treasury_securit…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A yield curve shows the relationship between yields and time to maturity for a set of comparable debt securities. In practice the term usually refers to curves built from a single issuer or market seg…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_curve

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 12: “Deere... [had] its first quarter of positive earnings-per-share (EPS) growth since 2023”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 13: “Merck... cancer vaccine results sent shares up almost 13%”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (TheStreet, 24/7 Wall St, and a web search result) confirm that a cancer vaccine developed by Moderna and Merck showed positive results, which caused significant stock price increases (though the specific '13%' figure is not explicitly cited, the general event of shares skyrocketing is corroborated).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including: the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668 Me…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merck

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Merck & Co., Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey. The company does business as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merck_&_Co.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Merck Group, branded and commonly known as Merck, is a German multinational science and technology company headquartered in Darmstadt, with about 60,000 employees and a presence in 66 countries. T…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merck_Group

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 14: “Micron... said this morning it's investing $10 billion to launch Micron Research Labs”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence provided includes irrelevant search results from Zhihu and general Wikipedia entries about memory shortages and universities, but nothing regarding a $10 billion investment by Micron for 'Micron Research Labs'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A global computer memory supply shortage started in 2025 due to supply constraints and rapid price escalation in the semiconductor memory market, particularly affecting DRAM and NAND flash integrated …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–present_global_memory_sup…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been award…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boise_State_University

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Current notable computer hardware manufacturers:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_computer_hardware_manu…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.