Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. (We’re no longer recording the audio, so we can get this new written feature to members as quickly as possible.) Good news is good news: The stock market correctly viewed the good jobs data as good news — no matter what it means for the timing of the first interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Some may be concerned that a still-tight labor market is too inflationary. But the reality is that strong job gains with elevated yet moderating wage growth is a great scenario for the U.S. economy. If the market needs that first Fed rate cut after the tightening cycle so much, why has the rally barely skipped a beat? Lack of news can also be good news: Friday’s market rally has more to it than just the jobs number. It’s rebounding on the lack of new escalations in the Middle East. Those concerns were the catalyst that caused oil to spike late Thursday and the stock market to spiral. We must monitor the Mideast and the oil dynamic. More importantly, though, Thursday afternoon’s reversal had nothing to do with the Fed. Our advice is to block out day-to-day Fedspeak and only focus on what Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says. This week, Powell said that rate cuts will come when needed but central bankers will need more time to figure it out. That’s no different than what he’s said before and in line with what Jim Cramer and I have been saying for a while now. Ford gets a bump: Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas raised his price target on Club name Ford to $17 per share from $16. The move comes in response to the automaker’s announcement Thursday about delaying production of a new all-electric SUV and pickup truck to focus on its more profitable, in-demand hybrid offerings. Jonas believes that slower electric vehicle adoption is great for legacy U.S. automakers like Ford. We agree . Ford’s evolving plans to make fewer EVs means narrowing losses and reducing capital expenditures. This has had a positive effect on earnings, and we know stocks tend to move in the direction of earnings. Ford’s strategy pivot also should boost free cash flow, increasing the likelihood of greater cash returns to shareholders. While Ford has preferred to return its excess cash through special dividends, we would prefer to see more buybacks next time since the stock traded at only seven times forward earnings and already pays out a hefty dividend. General Motors ‘ well-timed buyback last November has done wonders for the stock price. Top weekly performers: The four top-performing stocks in the portfolio this week were Meta Platforms , Eaton , Wynn Resorts , and Amazon . Meta was also one of the biggest gainers in the S & P 500 , boosted by tons of positive commentary about how it’s gaining share in the ad market with its generative AI tools. Eaton rallied on multiple analyst upgrades. Wynn Resorts surged Monday on better-than-expected Macao gross gaming revenue data. Wynn stock outperformed in Thursday’s selloff thanks to Mizuho initiating coverage with a buy rating and $131 per share price target. Amazon rallied on a handful of positive notes — hitting a new 52-week high Friday and trading back to levels last seen in 2021. Worst weekly performers: The four worst-performing stocks in the portfolio were Foot Locker , Estee Lauder , Palo Alto Networks , and TJX Companies . It’s not a coincidence to see three retail stocks on this list. Retail ETF (XRT) suffered one of its worst weeks in more than a year on poor earnings from PVH , a soft update from Ulta Beauty , and gasoline prices hitting their highest level in six months. The thing about a big retail decline like this is that it tends to bring down the good with the bad. Costco and TJX should be holding up better because they both are market share gainers that offer great value to their customers. Both stocks are looking like opportunities to us. Palo Alto Networks fell despite no specific news, and we’re considering whether to add to our position on this recent weakness. (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.
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. (We’re no longer recording the audio, so we can get this new written feature to members as quickly as possible.)
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