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. Stocks rose slightly on Friday. The S&P 500 index is on track to rise more than 1% this week, while the Nasdaq Composite Index is up more than 1.5%. Markets quickly recovered from a brief dip around 10:30 a.m. ET after President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. had agreed to continue talks with Iran, but that “the ceasefire is over!” Investors showed strong enthusiasm for the listing of SK Hynix, one of the world’s three largest memory chip makers and a leader in high-bandwidth memory used in AI chips. Tech stocks, energy, communications services and consumer discretionary were the only sectors that rose in the market this week. Healthcare performed the worst as investors moved out of this defensive group. Materials, daily necessities, utilities, real estate and industrial products also posted small losses. Financials fell slightly but remained the best-performing sector month-to-date. Earnings season for major banks begins next Tuesday, with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo all reporting second-quarter results before the market opens. Why they all chose the same day for their earnings release is beyond our pay grade. Markets are expected to seemingly struggle as all the news and financial numbers come rushing through within two hours and investors try to figure out who’s doing well. Goldman Sachs’ earnings will depend on how record capital market activity translates into strong results. An important thing to note is how investment bank balances have changed from quarter to quarter. In theory, Wells Fargo should have an easier time turning a profit simply because it has posted two consecutive disappointing quarters and was the worst performer among major banks this year. Although expectations are low, Wells Fargo still needs to turn this situation around. More consistent execution by banks is required to justify keeping this long-term position in the portfolio. This is what we want management to continue to do: drive the commercial portfolio and continue to build momentum for new product launches, including Icotide, a treatment for plaque psoriasis, health care giant Johnson & Johnson reported on Wednesday. The pharmaceutical giant raised its full-year guidance for operating sales growth and adjusted earnings per share after the first quarter, and we expect it to do so again. Other notable reports on Wednesday: Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, PNC Financial, Bank of New York Mellon, ASML, Conagra, and Cintas. United Airlines and JB Hunt reported after the close. Earnings from UnitedHealth, GE Aerospace, Abbott Labs and Prologis are expected to be released on Thursday. Taiwan Semiconductor also reported that the company’s sales growth and capital spending guidance could have implications for the broader chip conglomerate. Finally, Netflix will report after the close of trading on Thursday, and several local banks will report before the bell on Friday. (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.
