Stocks were mixed in intraday trading following Thursday’s market rally, which saw all three major indexes close over 1% higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 60.59 points, the Nasdaq Composite was down 77.98 points and the S&P 500 up 3.56 points as of 10:00 a.m. ET.
Jim Cramer and Action Alerts PLUS senior analyst Jeff Marks discussed China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency, continued debt ceiling talks, Nike (NKE) – Get NIKE, Inc. (NKE) Report, Costco (COST) – Get Costco Wholesale Corporation Report, the semiconductor shortage and much more.
Watch the full interview with TheStreet in the video below:
China Cracks Down on Cryptocurrency
After weeks of crack downs in a variety of industries, China has turned its attention to the cryptocurrency market. The People’s Bank of China issued a blanket ban on all cryptocurrency trading Friday with all forms of digital transactions and financing declared “illegal activities that are strictly prohibited.”
In a statement on the PBOC’s website, the central bank said the government will “resolutely clamp down on virtual currency speculation, and related financial activities and misbehavior in order to safeguard people’s properties and maintain economic, financial and social order.”
Overseas exchanges were also banned from using the Internet to provide services to mainland investors in China.
In a joint statement obtained by Reuters, 10 Chinese government agencies, including banking, securities and foreign exchange regulators as well as the central bank, said they will work in tandem and use “high pressure” to crackdown on speculative cryptocurrency trading.
However, there was no mention on the legality or illegality of the possession of cryptocurrency assets.
Nike Warns Supply Chain Woes May Impact Your Next Pair of Kicks
Nike reported stronger-than-expected top line earnings following the close of Thursday trading, but warned that supply chain disruptions could impact its business more than previously anticipated.
The shoemaker reported adjusted earnings of $1.16 per share, exceeding consensus estimates of $1.11. However, revenue of $12.2 billion came in just short of an expected $12.465 billion.
Nike warned longer transit times, labor shortages and prolonged production shutdowns in Vietnam could impact revenue heading into the holiday season, lowering its sales forecast for fiscal 2022.
Costco Sees Major Growth as the Great Toilet Paper Shortage Returns
Costco reported adjusted earnings of $3.76 per share on revenue of $61.44 billion, marking a 17.5% year over year increase and exceeding analyst estimates.
Comparable sales for the quarter rose 9.4% company wide with a 10.3% increase in the U.S. and a 6.7% increase in Canada.
The bad news? Even Costco isn’t immune to the recent supply chain shortages. The retail warned that it will limiting purchases of some items including toilet paper, paper towels and bottled water amid an “uptick in Delta-related demand,” citing two to…
Read More: Jim Cramer Video: China, Cryptocurrency, Costco, Nike, Debt Ceiling,