The stock market staged a comeback last week, even as Wall Street raced through a flurry of both upbeat and troubling headlines. The Nasdaq broke its five-week losing streak on Friday, supported by strong advances from our big tech names like Meta Platforms, Nvidia and Amazon. The technology-heavy index ended the week 1.9% higher. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% during the holiday-shortened week, snapping a two-week slide. The Supreme Court’s ruling against President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs on Friday helped lift shares of many consumer-facing companies that have been burdened by higher costs of imports. The index might have risen even more for the week had it not been for private credit concerns stemming from Blue Owl Capital, which caused volatility in some financial names. All of our bank stocks at least stayed above the fray and ended the week higher, led by a 2% gain for Wells Fargo. Goldman Sachs was not far behind, with 1.9%. Capital One added 0.5%. We will see if the rebound can last until Monday. Until then, here are three drivers of the stock market and our portfolio over the past four trading sessions. .SPX YTD Mountain S&P 500 (SPX) Year-To-Date Performance Supreme Court Tariff Decision The S&P 500 advanced 0.7% on Friday after the Supreme Court struck down most of Trump’s far-reaching tariff agenda in a 6-3 decision. The Supreme Court argued that no president had ever used the statute in question to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope. Trump must “point to clear congressional authorization” to justify the “extraordinary” tariff powers, the majority wrote. “He can’t.” Trump pushed back on Friday afternoon with threats of 10% global tariffs. However, those new levies can only last for 150 days without further congressional action being extended. Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturda and also about additional tariffs. Perhaps a clearer picture will emerge when the president delivers his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday. However, the court’s ruling was not clear for investors to increase stocks hurt by the tariffs. Just look at Nike, which previously gave a $1.5 billion fee this fiscal year headwinds. While the stock initially moved up on the court’s decision, it closed down 0.3% as the market realized Trump would find alternative ways to impose higher tariffs. Our other consumer companies such as Costco, Procter & Gamble, TJX Companies and Amazon are also affected by the ruling. In the run-up to the court’s decision, the Club explained how these tariffs directly affect pricing, margin and inventory strategies for each company. Big Tech Roars Back Megacap tech stocks are finally making their comeback. Meta announced on Tuesday that it will use millions of Nvidia’s chips in its data centers. Both names jumped as a result, reinforcing the narrative of relentless AI demand and a new wave of hyperscale spending. Meta and Nvidia ended the week up 2.5% and 3.8% respectively. Amazon shares also rose after a regulatory filing showed on Wednesday that Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square significantly grew the fund’s position during the fourth quarter. The e-commerce giant jumped 5.6% for the week, making it our best portfolio performer. Alphabet was a laggard in the group earlier in the week as the stock continued its post-earnings downtrend. However, the club bought more shares from the AI leader, arguing that the withdrawal was unjustified. A session later, the stock rallied and was up 3% for the week. That same session, we trimmed our Corning position to a massive 2026 run. It’s not a megacap tech name like the others, but it has benefited from the AI trade as the company’s fiber optic cables play an increasingly important role in data centers. Corning was our second best stock of the week, up 4.5%. Credit crunch? Private credit concerns about Blue Owl Capital sent waves through the financial sector last week. Shares fell nearly 6% on Thursday after the asset manager permanently limited withdrawals from its private debt fund for retail investors. Some on Wall Street call Blue Owl the “canary in the coal mine,” arguing that the fast-growing private credit market, which has attracted billions in capital in recent years, may have problems beneath the surface. Shares of the largest private asset managers such as Ares Management, Apollo Global, Blackstone and KKR were hit hard on Thursday. Ares and Blackstone fell again on Friday, ending the week as the worst two names in the S&P 500 financial sector, down 8% and 6.6% respectively. Apollo rose 1.2% on Friday, recovering from its 5.6% tumble in Thursday’s session. Within our portfolio, BlackRock has some private credit exposure, but that is not a concern for us right now. The market seemed to agree: Shares fell just 1% on Thursday, rebounded on Friday and ended the week up 2%. And more generally, Jim does not reject the presence of some bad loans within the private credit complex. However, he wrote on Friday morning that he does not believe the situation is “tragic in nature” at this stage. Capital One is the only financial club we traded last week and bought additional shares of the credit card issuer on Wednesday. A sale of Danaher and Texas Roadhouse was also included in that Wednesday trade. We exited the restaurant stock entirely on Friday after its earnings report the night before convinced us that its beef inflation problem wasn’t going away anytime soon. (See here for a complete 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 share in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, ALONG 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 INVESTMENT CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
