Club meeting recap: Cramer says investors should find safety in defensive stocks like Costco

Published Fri, Mar 24 202312:02 PM EDT

Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Friday's key moments. Defensive stocks Watch Microsoft Own Nvidia 1. Look to defensive stocks Stocks edged down during midmorning trading Friday after shares of Deutsche Bank (DB) sold off for the third consecutive day amid renewed fears over the health of the European banking sector. Meanwhile, investors are turning to safety in consumer staples. Jim Cramer Friday urged Club members to own wholesale retailer Costco (COST) and consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (PG) — defensive names that are holding up in an uncertain market. Shares of Costco were up around 0.8% Friday morning, at nearly $492 apiece, while P & G was trading up more than 1%, at around $145 a share. 2. Watch Microsoft UK regulators are narrowing the scope of their antitrust probe over Club holding Microsoft 's (MSFT) planned takeover of video game maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI). This news should encourage investors that the deal will proceed as planned. The tie-up would accelerate Microsoft's gaming business across mobile, personal computers, console and in the cloud. At $68.7 billion, it would also be Microsoft's largest acquisition ever. Shares of Microsoft were trading up 0.4% Friday, at nearly $279 apiece. 3. Own Nvidia Club holding Nvidia (NVDA) has been one of the best performing large cap stocks this year, with shares up more than 80% year-to-date. We were pleased to see the chipmaker showcase its impressive technologies and leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) during its annual technology conference for developers earlier this week. Jim said Friday to own Nvidia and not to trade it, since the company is playing a crucial role in the development and adoption of AI. The stock is priced at a premium, but the valuation is justified. Still, we would welcome a pullback to add to our position on a discount. Shares of Nvidia were trading nearly 2% lower Friday, at around $267 apiece. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long COST, PG, MSFT, NVDA. See here for a full list of the stocks.) 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.