Another late-day stock market selloff. Here’s what we think is going on

By Street Asset On Apr 4, 2024 0 0

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. (We’re no longer recording the audio, so we can get this new written feature to members as quickly as possible.) Trying to rebound: After a nice rally at the start of the session, the S & P 500 was struggling to hold onto its gains. (The index moved solidly into the red following the first publication of this story.) This would make it two days in a row of late-day fades, which could simply be a result of the market trying to sit at neutral ground ahead of Friday’s jobs data. Or maybe the market is starting to fear the recent rise in oil prices? West Texas Intermediate crude traded lower for most of the session but spiked $1 at around 1:45 p.m. ET — lining up almost perfectly with the selling in the stock market. As we wrote a Thursday morning commentary: This oil rally should not be ignored . .SPX @CL.1 1D mountain S & P 500 vs. WTI – 1 day Jobs Friday: The past few monthly employment reports from the government have shown a resilient labor market on the surface with strong job gains and moderating wage growth but significant negative revisions to the previous months. That dynamic has led some market watchers to think that cracks have started to form. Let’s see what the latest numbers show and watch for the corresponding moves in the Treasury market since the recent rise in bond yields has led to some choppy behavior in stocks. Doubling down: Ford announced it delayed production of a new all-electric SUV and pickup truck. Instead, the automaker plans to expand its hybrid offerings. By the end of the decade, Ford expects to offer hybrid powertrains across its entire Ford Blue lineup in North America. The Ford Blue division houses all internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid vehicles. This update isn’t a big surprise if you’ve been listening to CEO Jim Farley’s comments on the past couple of earnings calls. With EV demand slowing, pricing power weakening, and higher interest rates increasing the importance of earnings, Ford has rightfully pivoted toward a much more prudent capital allocation strategy of slowing down the pace of investment in EVs. That doesn’t mean the company has lost sight of scaling a profitable EV business in the long run, but what we would rather see is Ford maximizing profits and cash flow. The company has answered this call by making more of the type of cars that are in demand. This means doubling down on hybrid vehicles, which sales of increased 42% in the first quarter . We think the market will reward this strategy over time. It did for most of Thursday, though Ford’s stock dipped after the market lost steam. Shares of the automaker closed up nearly 2.8% on Wednesday after those quarterly sales numbers. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

Another late-day stock market selloff. Here’s what we think is going on

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