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 moves : The S & P 500 and Nasdaq were modestly higher Monday after logging record-high closes on Friday. They are both poised to close out June and the second quarter with strong gains. In the Homestretch of the last trading day of the month, we wanted to reflect on the first six months of the year as a perfect example of why you have to stay invested in the stock market — even when it is scary. Just three short months ago, the market started tanking on news that President Donald Trump was set on slapping major tariffs on U.S. trading partners to rectify what he believes to be unfair trade practices. While the “reciprocal” rates put on various countries were jaw-dropping, it’s pretty clear, in hindsight, that selling back then was the wrong move. There are a few lessons to be learned. 1. As it relates to Trump — and this is important because, love him or hate him, he is with us for another 3½ years — the dynamic is just another example of his negotiation style. The president likes to come out swinging when it comes to his demands — but in the end, he has shown a willingness to pull back on his asks in the pursuit of progress. If anything, the takeaway should be that the outcome of trade negotiations is almost assured to be less than what the president initially demanded. 2. This ties back to the first point; this style of negotiation, though perhaps not fun for investors, does tend to provide opportunities for the fundamental investors that can keep their focus on the longer term. It’s the idea of handicapping where negotiations will likely go after Trump’s initial shock and awe. Selloffs like the one at the beginning of April are broad-based and tend not to be very discerning, as big money investors look to unload exposure — selling first and asking questions later. As stock pickers, we have to be ready to game that, and the way to do that is to think less about the strong language, tough talk, and scary headlines — and instead, stick to our discipline and focus on what matters to stocks most: earnings. Yes, some companies will take direct hits due to tariffs, and all companies will be impacted in some way — be it through stresses on suppliers, partners, or consumer wallets. However, by focusing on longer-term trends and individual companies’ abilities to manage through the tariffs, we can find things to like in this market. Opportunities like those in cybersecurity, which will remain a high-priority spending category no matter what, given the costly implications of a data breach, or trends like artificial intelligence, which can provide an offset to rising costs, thanks to increases in efficiency. Jim Cramer talked about tech and other areas that look good in his Sunday column . While the consumer may take a hit, they are unlikely to stop shopping altogether. Instead, they will look for the best value around and shop in places like Club names Costco or off-price retailer TJX , or buy more stuff online from Amazon . The main point is, panic is not a strategy and as we noted a few weeks back in talking about the turmoil in the Middle East, as concerning as headlines might be, it’s not going to impact the market longer-term until investors start to sense that it will impact economic growth, inflation, and ultimately corporate earnings. While the trade war is ongoing, and the end-game is unclear, what is apparent is that many companies are going to be able to grow earnings regardless. As individual stock investors, that’s where we want to focus our buying power. Crypto craze : Robinhood hosted its “To Catch a Token” crypto event Monday, which was met with a positive reaction from investors. In addition to updates to the company’s crypto offerings, Robinhood laid out its plan to “tokenize” equity markets, essentially working to move much of the backend dynamics of equity trading to the blockchain. By moving to blockchain, Robinhood is not only revamping its platform to support 24/5 trading but setting the groundwork for 24/7 stock trading in the future. The move also sets up the ability for investors to store their stock tokens in cold storage wallets, similar to how some people currently store crypto when they want to move it off of an exchange and take full custody of the asset. Most exciting for financial markets, Robinhood is working on the “Robinhood Chain,” a blockchain that is “optimized for real-world assets from real estate, to art, to stocks,” according to the company. Box office : Apple had its first big theatrical win over the weekend, with “F1,” starring Brad Pitt, pulling $55.6 million in North America ticket sales and another $88.4 million internationally. It’s good to see the Club name’s movie studio grow and compete successfully on a larger stage, hopefully setting us up for more services growth. However, it’s far from enough to offset concerns about the iPhone maker’s AI strategy. Don’t expect much from the stock until investors gain more clarity on the company’s AI roadmap. Up next : Be sure to catch “Mad Money” on Monday evening for a free-ranging interview with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. On Tuesday, we’ll be looking for updates to the shareholder return plans, buybacks, and dividends, from our financials, given the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s positive stress test results. Club holdings Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are widely seen on Wall Street as the ones with the most improvement from last year. (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.
Market lessons from the first half of 2025 — and, stocks that look good going forward
