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. It was shaping up to be an ugly Thursday , as stocks initially sold off hard in reaction to President Donald Trump's primetime address last night, where he provided an update on the war in the Middle East and said the U.S. plans to "hit" Iran hard. His speech did not suggest an upcoming "off ramp" many hoped to see. His comments caused U.S. oil benchmark WTI crude to soar and cross above $110 per barrel. But the volatility didn't end there. Stocks moved off their lows and briefly turned positive at one point on a report that Iran is drafting a plan with Oman to "monitor transit" through the Strait of Hormuz, requiring ships to pay tolls for passage. The market rebound didn't hold, but it has led to a better session to end the holiday-shortened week of trading than Thursday's open suggested. It also helped keep the S & P 500 on track to notch its first weekly gain since mid-February, before the war broke out. Media outlets are catching up to our latest Linde thesis. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal's popular "Heard on the Street" column focused on the disruption to the helium supply chain caused by the war, especially in Qatar, which is responsible for roughly one-third of the helium market. The story called out Air Products and Chemicals and Linde as two beneficiaries of rising helium prices, with APD the better play because helium represents a slightly larger percentage of company revenue compared with Linde. During our Morning Meeting last Wednesday, we noted that rising helium prices could turn a 1% to 2% earnings per share headwind for Linde into a tailwind this year. However, focusing on fluctuations in the spot market misses the bigger picture. If peers like the Qatar-dependent Air Liquide struggle to fully meet supply agreements, it opens the door for Linde to win new customers through long-term contracts, driving market share gains and higher volumes that will lead to stronger earnings power in the future. While Linde shares are slightly negative since the Iran war broke out Feb. 28, they've been a strong performer on a year-to-date basis, up over 17%. The only three Club names ahead of Linde are tied to the buzzy AI buildout ( Corning , Qnity Electronics and GE Vernova ). Up next, we will see the March jobs report on Friday morning at the usual 8:30 a.m. ET. But unusually, the stock market is closed for Good Friday, so we won't see Wall Street react in real time to the numbers. Economists polled by FactSet expect the U.S. to have added 60,000 jobs in March, with the unemployment rate unchanged from February at 4.4%. Next week is a quiet one for corporate news with the only notable earning reports coming from Levi Strauss , Delta Air Lines and Modelo brewer Constellation Brands . However, it's a busy one on the economic data side. We'll see the ISM Services Index, Durable Goods, February PCE, and third read on fourth quarter GDP, March CPI, and University of Michigan Sentiment and Inflation expectations. (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.
