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. Markets: Stocks are having a choppy session. There’s been a couple of attempts at a rally, but those mostly failed to sustain after the bond market reasserted its control. Another attempt to rally started shortly after 1 p.m. ET when pressure on rates eased in reaction to a successful auction of $22 billion of 30-year Treasury bonds. It was the last of three big bond auctions this week. As of roughly 2:40 p.m. ET, the S & P 500 was basically flat. The broad index remained subdued after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting showed that central bankers believed the upside risks to inflation had increased . “As reasons for this judgment, participants cited recent stronger-than-expected readings on inflation and the likely effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy,” the minutes said. Skimming froth off the top: Although the market has gotten beaten up the past two days, the silver lining is that we finally saw some frothiness subside. Red-hot corners of the market where valuations defied traditional fundamental analysis fell hard. Themes such as quantum computing, alternative energy like nuclear, and speculative technology were some of the biggest losers in Wednesday’s session. Shares of Constellation Energy , which has attracted buzz for its plants to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, were down just over 4% in afternoon trading, well off their lows of the session. Constellation Energy investors are grappling with a Bloomberg News report that said the company is in talks to acquire power producer Calpine for roughly $30 billion, including debt. The merits of this potential acquisition aside, it is the latest sign of a dealmaking revival as corporate America prepares for President-elect Donald Trump to return to the White House. Expectations of less antitrust scrutiny under Trump is already boosting M & A activity — and it’s why we have been building a position in Goldman Sachs . On Tuesday, we finalized our investment banking switch , exiting our position in Morgan Stanley and using that cash to buy more Goldman. We added to our holdings of another financial player, BlackRock , on Wednesday. Up next: Jefferies Financial Group reports after the closing bell Wednesday. The results from the financial services firm always provide a good preview into the big bank earnings, which kick off next week. We’re most interested in hearing what Jefferies has to say about its investment banking pipeline due to our aforementioned expectations around M & A this year. Keep in mind that the stock and bond markets are closed Thursday in honor of the former President Jimmy Carter as his state funeral is held in Washington. Accordingly, there will be no Morning Meeting and Homestretch on Thursday. Jumping to Friday, it’s a busy day with earnings from a Club stock Constellation Brands out before thebell. With the Mexican beer, wine, and spirits company now three-quarters through its peak capital expenditure year, we hope to see management step up its share repurchase program and talk about increasing cash returns. Other companies reporting are Delta Air Lines and Walgreens Boots Alliance . The biggest market-moving news Friday will be the December nonfarm payroll report. (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.
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.