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. Market update: Stocks are headed lower on Friday, but the S & P 500 is still on pace for a weekly gain of about 1%. This week had some counter-trend components, with value stocks outperforming while more momentum-based companies lagged. Top grade this week : Health care was the best-performing sector this week, and the group was near the top of the leaderboard even before a 13F filing from Berkshire Hathaway revealed that the company had purchased a stake in the beleaguered UnitedHealth Group in the second quarter. Eli Lilly was another large-cap health-care stock that bounced back. The pharma giant had an ugly sell-off last week on disappointing data from its oral GLP-1 trial, but sentiment improved after SEC filings showed a rush of insider buying activity. Also, the company said on Thursday it will increase the list price of its GLP-1 drug Mounjaro for out-of-pocket patients in the United Kingdom. Worst performers : Three sectors posted negative returns this week: Consumer staples, utilities, and technology. The industrials were about flat as of the time of writing. Tech fell as the momentum trade stalled, and the market sold year-to-date winners and rotated into laggards. Utilities declined, but remember, the sector is interest-rate sensitive. When interest rates climb, the group typically underperforms. The weakness in staples was easy to define, as grocery-related stocks like Kroger , Walmart , and Target dropped after Amazon announced a significant expansion to its same-day delivery grocery service. Next week: We’re in the part of earnings season when we hear from retail and enterprise software. The retail reports should start to get interesting because they are some of the more tariff-exposed companies in the market, and could struggle to pass on prices to consumers. In total, 14 companies in the S & P 500 are scheduled to report. Within the portfolio, we’ll hear from Palo Alto Networks on Monday, Home Depot on Tuesday, and TJX Companies on Wednesday. A few other notable companies reporting are Walmart, Toll Brothers , Target , Lowe’s , Intuit , and Workday . On the data side, it’s a lighter week with housing starts, weekly jobless claims, and existing home sales. But Fed commentary will be in focus. Next week is the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium and Chair Jerome Powell will give his outlook on Friday at 10 a.m. ET. It’s a toss-up if Powell will hint at rate cuts as soon as the Sept. 17 meeting or reiterate his wait-and-see stance. As of mid-day Friday, the probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the September meeting was about 91%. (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.
