Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch – an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the final hour of Wall Street trading. Mixed markets: Stocks are mixed on Thursday, a day after the market enjoyed a broad-based gain — and its best session since November — in response to the December consumer price index report, which showed that core inflation rose less than expected. The encouraging inflation data, which followed a tepid wholesale inflation report on Tuesday, sent bond prices higher and yields much lower. Bonds were mixed at the start of Thursday’s session as investors shrugged off a slight loss in retail sales, a strong manufacturing report and initial jobless claims slightly above expectations. However, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note began to decline around 10 a.m. ET. At its afternoon level of 4.6%, the 10-year yield is significantly lower than its pre-CPI level of around 4.77%. That’s why some of the biggest performers over the past two sessions have been the utilities and real estate sectors of the S&P 500, as well as cyclical corners like industrials and other fee-sensitive stocks like companies related to housing. The Home Depot club name is up about 4% during Wednesday and Thursday. Divergent technology: Within technology, AI-related stocks and semiconductor capital equipment companies such as Lam Research and Applied Materials are having a strong day in response to earnings and comments from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. TSMC, the world’s largest third-party chipmaker, said very positive things about demand for artificial intelligence chips, expecting revenue from these advanced chips to double this year with demand continuing to grow. exceed capacity. The company guided for revenues and capital expenditures for the first quarter of 2025 above the Wall Street consensus estimate. However, not all technology was collected. Apple was one of the group’s biggest laggards, falling nearly 4% to extend its year-to-date losses to more than 8%. The story going around Thursday is that Apple is no longer the market share leader in China after its smartphone shipments fell 25% in the fourth quarter, according to data from Canalys. The long knives are out for Apple, and valuations may need to come down a bit ahead of the iPhone maker’s earnings report on January 30. But we’re not changing our own-it-don’t-trade view on the stock and see no need to take additional action because we already took advantage of the position with a dip at the December 26 highs. . As we noted in that trading alert, discipline trumps obedience. Next up: The only major earnings report after Thursday’s closing bell is trucking company JB Hunt. Before the opening bell on Friday, we’ll see quarters from oil services company SLB, financial institutions Truist and State Street, and an industrial at Fastenal. We’re moving on to the week’s economic data highlights. (See here for a complete list of holdings in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Foundation.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you’ll receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a share in his charitable trust portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after the trade alert is issued before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY ALONG WITH OUR STATEMENT. NO OBLIGATION OR FIDUCIARY DUTIES EXIST, OR ARE CREATED BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIVING ANY INFORMATION DIRECTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTOR CLUB. NO SPECIFIC RESULTS OR PROFITS ARE GUARANTEED.
Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch – an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the final hour of Wall Street trading.