Every weekday, Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club releases the Homestretch, a practical afternoon update to coincide with the last hour of trading on Wall Street. It was shaping up to be an ugly Thursday, with stocks initially selling off sharply after President Donald Trump’s prime-time speech last night, in which he provided an update on the Middle East war and said the US was going to violently “attack” Iran. His speech did not hint at the upcoming “off-ramp” that many had expected. His comments sent the price of WTI crude, the U.S. oil benchmark, soaring to more than $110 per barrel. But the volatility didn’t end there. Stocks briefly rose from their lows following reports that Iran, along with Oman, is developing a plan to “monitor transits” through the Strait of Hormuz and require ships to pay tolls. Although the market rally was not sustained, it was a better trade to end the holiday-shortened week than Thursday’s opening price suggested. It also helped keep the S&P 500 on track for its first weekly gain since mid-February, before the outbreak of war. The media is following our latest Linde paper. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal’s popular “Hard on the Street” column focused specifically on disruptions to the helium supply chain due to the war in Qatar, which accounts for about a third of the helium market. The article lists Air Products & Chemicals and Linde as two companies that will benefit from rising helium prices, and notes that APD has an advantage because helium accounts for a slightly larger portion of the company’s revenue compared to Linde. At last Wednesday’s morning meeting, we noted that the 1% to 2% headwind to Linde’s earnings per share could turn into a tailwind this year due to rising helium prices. However, focusing on spot market fluctuations obscures the overall picture. If peers like Air Liquide, which relies on Qatar, struggle to fully honor supply contracts, Linde could gain new customers through long-term contracts, boosting its market share and boosting sales volumes, potentially boosting its future profitability. Although Linde stock has been slightly negative since the Iran war broke out on February 28th, it has shown solid performance, rising more than 17% year-to-date. The only three club names in front of Linde are related to the much talked about AI augmentation (Corning, Qnity Electronics, and GE Vernova). The next March employment report is scheduled to be released Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, as usual. But, unusually, the stock market is closed for Good Friday, so Wall Street won’t be reacting to the numbers in real time. Economists polled by FactSet expect the U.S. to add 60,000 jobs in March and keep the unemployment rate unchanged from February at 4.4%. Next week will be a quiet week in corporate news, with only notable earnings reports from Levi Strauss & Co., Delta Air Lines and Modelo brewer Constellation Brands. However, things have been busy in terms of economic indicators. We review the ISM Services Index, Durable Goods, February PCE, and third-quarter results for Q4 GDP, March CPI, University of Michigan Sentiment, and Inflation Expectations. (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. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
