Investing Club: The week in review, the week ahead — April 1, 2022

Published Fri, Apr 1 20224:09 PM EDT

The S & P 500 , the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq were relatively flat this week. Stocks fluctuated Friday but the Dow eked out a slight gain to kick off April's first day of trading. On Thursday, the first quarter of 2022 ended with all three stock benchmarks posting their worst first three months since 2020. However, March turned in a solid month of gains. And April is historically the best month of the year for stocks, with the S & P 500 gaining an average 1.7%. On top of that, 15 out of every 16 Aprils post gains, according to veteran chartist Larry Williams. His research suggests the current market is in a good zone to go higher. Under the hood this week, real estate was the standout followed by utilities and consumer staples, while financials led to the downside followed by energy and industrials. Here's a quick look at some of the broader market measures: The U.S. dollar index held around the 98; gold stayed in the low- to- mid-$1,900s; WTI crude pulled back to around $100 per barrel; and the 10-year Treasury yield stood around 2.4%. The big headlines out of the bond market were the inversions in the spreads between the 2-year yield and the 10-year yield — the first time that happened since 2019 — as well as the 5-year yield and the 30-year yield — the first time that happened since 2006. When short-duration yields go above longer-dated ones, it can signal market concerns that the Federal Reserve might raise interest rates too quickly. Yield inversions often happen before economic recessions. Before getting to next week's reports, here's a quick look at our trades this week: Earnings and economy No Investing Club portfolio companies reported earnings this week, but there were plenty of economic reports released. Wednesday ADP Employment: 455,000 vs. 450,000 estimate Gross Domestic Product quarter over quarter: up 6.9% vs. up 7% estimate Thursday Weekly initial jobless claims : 202,000 vs.195,000 expected; four-week moving average for claims: 208,500, down 3,500 from prior week Personal Spending month over month: up 0.2% vs. up 0.5% estimate Personal Income month over month: up 0.4% vs. up 0.5% estimate Core PCE Price Index year over year: up 5.4% basically in-line with estimate Friday Nonfarm Payrolls : 431,000 vs. 490,000 estimate ISM Manufacturing PMI: 57.1 vs. 59 estimate What's ahead Fourth-quarter earnings are largely done being reported. There are no portfolio out in the week ahead. But there are other companies' quarterly results worth watching. Tuesday Before the bell: Acuity Brands (AYI), Cognyte Software (CGNT), Lindsay Corp (LNN) After the bell: Array Tech (ARRY), SMART Global (SGH) Wednesday Before the bell: RPM (RPM), Greenbrier (GBX), Schnitzer Steel (SCHN), Simply Good Foods (SMPL), Tilray (TLRY) After the bell: Levi Strauss (LEVI) Resources Connection (RGP), Sprinklr (CXM) Thursday Before the bell: AngioDynamics (ANGO), Apogee Enterprises (APOG), Conagra (CAG), Constellation Brands (STZ), Lamb Weston (LW) After the bell: PriceSmart (PSMT), WD-40 (WDFC) On the macroeconomic front, we'll be keeping an eye on the geopolitical sphere as well as for the following releases (all times ET). Monday 10:00 Factory Orders Tuesday 9:45 Flash PMI 10:00 ISM Services PMI Wednesday 14:00 FOMC Minutes Thursday 08:30 Initial Claims Friday 10:00 Wholesale Inventories (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.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchangeas Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is shown addressing Congress on March 16, 2022 in New York City. The Dow started off the day in positive territory, extending yesterday's rally.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq