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. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wednesday struggled to break a two-day losing streak. The S&P 500 rose as much as 0.86% before reversing course and erasing the gains. The S&P500 is slightly down. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq continues to be in the red. The index has struggled even as oil prices continue to fall, with U.S. benchmark WTI crude at one point falling below $70 a barrel. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell by about 9 basis points (bp) as lower energy prices eased inflation concerns. Lower oil prices and lower interest rates bode well for travel, leisure and housing stocks, which led the market during the session. That strength is reflected in the stock price of Home Depot, the club’s name, which has returned to its highest level since April. Ahead of Micron’s earnings announcement after the bell, most tech stocks fell as semiconductors and other AI-related stocks took profits. The club name “Corning” was an outlier for reasons that are unclear. The stock is up about 7%, making it the best-performing tech company in the S&P 500 despite weak themes. Linde shares are rising after Citi analysts raised their price target on the industrial gas supplier to $600 from $585 and initiated a “positive short-term view for 90 days.” Analysts wrote in a client note that the request “considers the possibility of more constructive estimate revisions due to possible upside from increased production in North America and the impact of industrial activity in Asia due to broad-based strength in manufacturing, metals, refining and electronics sectors.” Citi also noted that the company’s high-quality backlog is becoming more exposed to fast-growing sectors such as the electronics and space industries. Notably, Citi reminded investors that Linde did not incorporate the benefit of higher helium prices into its guidance. This is important because helium prices rose after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused a supply shortage. As we have previously explained, we do not believe that management is seeking temporary profits by selling to the spot market. Rather, we think Linde is using the excess supply to win new long-term contracts, a strategy that could support volume and revenue growth over time. Linde is having a quietly strong 2026, with the stock up more than 21% year-to-date. This outpaced the S&P 500’s 7.5% rise and the index’s materials sector’s 13% rise. Micron’s earnings report after the closing bell will be watched closely across Wall Street, with expectations running high after the stock has risen more than 250% this year. The company beat analysts’ earnings per share estimates by about 30% last quarter and by about 25% the quarter before that. We’ll be interested to see how the market reacts in what we expect to be another strong quarter, as well as management’s comments on the dynamics of supply and demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the memory chips used in AI servers. Before the opening bell on Thursday, earnings for Darden Restaurants, the parent company of spice maker McCormick and Olive Garden, will be announced. On the data side, we look at the Fed’s recommended inflation measure with the PCE price index. Other notable economic reports include final information on first-quarter U.S. gross domestic product, weekly unemployment claims and durable goods orders. (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.
