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Skip NavigationMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPolitics & PolicyVideoWatchlistInvesting ClubPROLivestreamMenuEvery 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. Stocks fell on Friday for two key reasons . The AI theme came under pressure over concerns that Nvidia’s next leader may be less willing to support the broader artificial intelligence ecosystem through financial backstops and investments. These “circular deals” were already being questioned by many, including us, over whether they were necessary, and those concerns had put a cap on Nvidia’s valuation. Despite a volatile week, the AI buildout theme had a positive week, recovering some of last week’s sharp losses. The other headwind was the continued rise in market interest rates. The 10-year Treasury yield settled last Friday at 4.86%. It’s on track to finish this week at around 5.15%, which would be an increase of roughly 29 basis points. That’s a pretty big move. Rates surged in response to a couple of hot inflation readings that significantly increased expectations for multiple rate hikes over the next three Federal Reserve meetings. A sustained decline in oil could make some of these calls for tighter monetary policy look too hawkish, but the direction of energy prices will largely depend on what happens next in the Middle East conflict. Higher rates are a drag on companies that need to borrow to grow, which would make financing the AI buildout that much more challenging, especially without Nvidia’s financial backing. Given the uncertainties that lie ahead for the AI buildout and interest rates, we remained mostly cash neutral for the week, partially offsetting purchases of Corona and Modelo brewer Constellation Brands and consumer products powerhouse Kimberly-Clark , which diversify the portfolio with low-multiple, less cyclical, dividend-paying companies, through sales of industrial data center play Eaton, diversified healthcare company Cardinal Health , and off-price retailer TJX Companies . There are two key AI events next week . Club name Nvidia reports quarterly earnings without Jensen Huang for the first time, following the co-founder’s resignation as CEO and from the board on Thursday amid an affair scandal. In prior quarters, Huang used the earnings calls to share his predictions of AI spending. No one had a better sense than Huang of where the AI puck was heading next. In his absence, interim CEO and long-time CFO Colette Kress is a steady hand who will keep the company on its AI roadmap. We also suspect Kress will share her thoughts on whether the company will continue to invest and backstop other companies and projects in its ecosystem to support the buildout. Finally, we expect to hear more about the company’s sales exposure to the Asia Pacific region, and what the future could look like under tighter U.S. export controls. The other major AI event next week is Anthropic’s IPO. The frontier AI lab is expected to price its upcoming IPO in a range of $70 and $78 per share, raising tens of billions of dollars for the company. A successful offering could improve sentiment around the broader AI trade. Anthropic is expected to begin trading this coming Thursday. Three other portfolio names report earnings next week. We’ll get quarterly reports from Home Depot and TJX. We cut our TJX position in half on Friday over concerns that competitive pressures and internal execution miscues will plague T.J. Maxx and Marshalls’ sales for the second quarter in a row. Palo Alto Networks also reports earnings next week. We expect that the firm is performing well given the fact that corporations of all sizes need to strengthen their cybersecurity solutions to protect against AI threats. Analysts at KeyBanc on Friday used the recent pullback in Palo Alto to upgrade their rating to buy from hold. Other earnings and economic numbers next week include Disney, Target, Lowe’s, Walmart, Alibaba, Bath & Body Works, Gap, and Ross Stores, and Elastic, as well as data on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and building permits, pending home sales, and the University of Michigan survey of consumer 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.Read More