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. (In order to get this new article to our members as quickly as possible, audio recordings will no longer be made.) Looking for a rebound: After a nice rally to start the session, the S&P 500 is struggling to sustain itself. About that profit. This marks the second straight day of late declines, but this could simply be the result of the market trying to stay in neutral ahead of Friday’s jobs report. Or is the market starting to worry about the recent rise in oil prices? West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell for most of the trading session, but jumped $1 around 1:45 p.m. ET, almost perfectly matching the stock market selloff. As we wrote in our Thursday morning commentary, this oil price hike should not be ignored. .SPX @CL.1 1D Mountain S&P 500 vs. WTI – 1st Friday’s employment report: The past few monthly employment reports released by the government have ostensibly been positive for labor, with solid employment growth and modest wage growth. The market is showing resilience, but with significant negative growth. Previous month’s correction. The move has some market watchers thinking cracks are starting to appear. The recent rise in bond yields has led to some volatile moves in stocks, so let’s take a look at what the latest numbers say and keep an eye on the corresponding movement in the U.S. Treasury market. Doubling down: Ford announced it is delaying production of its new all-electric SUV and pickup truck. Instead, automakers plan to expand their hybrid offerings. Ford plans to offer a hybrid powertrain across the Ford Blue lineup in North America by the end of the 2010s. The Ford Blue division houses all internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid vehicles. This update doesn’t come as a huge surprise if you’ve heard CEO Jim Farley’s comments in the past few earnings calls. As EV demand slows, pricing power weakens, and rising interest rates make profits more important, Ford understandably pivots to a more prudent capital allocation strategy that slows the pace of EV investment. did. That doesn’t mean the company has lost sight of expanding its long-term profitable EV business, but we’d rather see Ford maximize profits and cash flow. The company responded to this call by building more of the types of cars that were in demand. This means doubling sales of hybrid vehicles, which saw sales increase by 42% in the first quarter. We believe the market will reward this strategy over time. Ford shares fell after the market lost momentum, but remained that way for much of Thursday. The company’s stock closed up nearly 2.8% on Wednesday following these quarterly sales figures. (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 a charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on his CNBC TV, he will wait 72 hours before executing a trade after issuing a trade alert. 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.
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. (In order to get this new written feature to our members as soon as possible, audio recordings will no longer be made.)
