Why the market is in a holding pattern, plus updates on 3 key portfolio stocks

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. Taking a breather: The major averages are bouncing around the flat line in afternoon trading as investors look ahead to Friday’s monthly jobs report. The broad market S & P 500 was down 0.08% after setting a new intraday record high just after the opening bell. We’re looking at a pretty bifurcated market, with five sectors in the green (consumer discretionary, communication services, consumer staples, energy, and heath care) and 6 in the red (utilities, industrials, technology financials, materials, real estate). Salesforce bounce back: The big winner in the portfolio Thursday is Salesforce , the enterprise software company that continues to bounce back from a vicious post-earnings pullback last week. Aiding the stock’s recovery is news that ValueAct CEO and Salesforce board member Mason Morfit purchased another 428,000 shares of CRM on Monday, increasing the firm’s stake to just over 3.9 million shares, worth nearly $1 billion. ValueAct initiated a stake in the company in late 2022, just as several other activists were also looking to pressure the company into focusing on more profitable growth. “It’s good to see Salesforce go up, it’s about a short-term changing of the guard out of hardware into enterprise software,” said Jim Cramer. “I don’t expect it to last but we are happy with our long-term position in the stock.” One up, one down: Club stock Eaton is is down, despite being added to Jefferies’ “Franchise Picks” list on Thursday. “If you don’t own any Eaton I would be nibbling here,” Jim said. “It is integral to the build out of the data centers.” Shares of Eli Lilly are up after receiving a limited recommendation for its anti-Alzheimer’s drug from the Food and Drug Administration, pending Monday’s meeting on approval. Limited is better than nothing. Up next: The important May nonfarm payrolls comes out Friday before the opening bell. “We are in a holding pattern pending tomorrow’s non-farm labor report,” Jim said. “We need to see wages steady and a slight uptick in unemployment, 3.9% would do it, to continue the advance.” In addition, Nvidia stock will split 10-for-1 after the close. “Tech needs to rest, it’s overheated in advance of the Nvidia split. Please remember that when people get extra shares they tend to sell them, not buy them, but ultimately split stocks do well. Don’t be upset if it goes down initially,” noted Jim. (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.

Salesforce signage is seen at its headquarters in San Francisco on Feb. 28, 2024.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

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.

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