Club meeting recap: Wall Street looks to finish Q1 higher as our tech stocks shine

Published Fri, Mar 31 202312:19 PM EDTUpdated Fri, Mar 31 20231:28 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. Stocks up on final day of Q1 China's economy is recovering Sen. Warren on bank rules 1. Stocks up on final day of Q1 Stocks rose Friday on the last day of the first quarter after the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric came in cooler-than-expected for February. The S & P 500 , as of Thursday's close, was on track to gain roughly 5.5% for Q1 — a solid finish after markets grew volatile over investor worries about hot inflation, a tight labor market, and the recent regional banking crisis. The big star of the major tech comeback in 2023 has been the Nasdaq , which was up nearly 15% for the quarter as of Thursday. Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta Platforms (META) were our top two winners in the first three months of the year. The Dow was modestly lower for Q1 as of Thursday but could move into positive territory, depending on where things end up Friday. 2. China's economy is recovering China on Friday released solid manufacturing and service-sector data for March — more evidence of a recovery in the world's second-largest economy since Beijing abandoned its zero-Covid policy. These kinds of numbers out of China are positive news for our Club holdings with major exposure to the Chinese consumer: Estee Lauder (EL), Starbucks (SBUX) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN). 3. Sen. Warren on bank rules Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a staunch banking critic, told CNBC Friday she wants to see an increase in the FDIC-insured limit of $250,000 per account. The Massachusetts Democrat sees such a move as a means to mitigate against future banking crises, like the one unfolding since Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed. As it relates to our bank stocks, Wells Fargo (WFC) does not "deserve the punishment" that's spread throughout the sector, and we find Morgan Stanley (MS) to be a "very inexpensive stock," Jim Cramer said Friday. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long EL, SBUX, WYNN, WFC, MS. 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.