Club meeting recap: Busy earnings week, key economic data, Foot Locker buy

Published Mon, Apr 24 202311:58 AM EDTUpdated Mon, Apr 24 202312:06 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 Monday's key moments. Stocks waver ahead of important economic data Earnings on deck Stick with Foot Locker 1. What's at stake this week Stocks were trending lower Monday morning ahead of the biggest week of earnings for the quarter, along with important updates on the state of the U.S. economy. In his weekly Sunday column , Jim Cramer observed that so far into the first-quarter earnings season, the end of March was much tougher for the economy compared to the beginning, with the crisis among a few regional banks being the catalyst for slower lending activity. The slowdown is what the Federal Reserve wants to see in its inflation-fighting efforts. But the GDP reading on Thursday and the March report on personal spending and income, out Friday, could determine whether the central bank will need to keep lifting interest rates. 2. Our pre-earnings take on two Club stocks Club holding Halliburton (HAL) will report its fiscal-first-quarter earnings results Tuesday before the opening bell. Last week, peer oil company SLB (SLB) reported an earnings beat, but the stock sold off due to high expectations. This doesn't change our thesis on our oilfield services holding. Buyers trickled into HAL Monday as shares were trading 1.8% higher at about $34 per share. Danaher (DHR) will also report Tuesday before the bell. Sentiment around the stock has been poor. DHR took a hit last week after a European bioprocessing company reported a miss due to higher-than-expected pandemic de-stocking on inventory. But that Covid-related part of Danaher's business keeps shrinking while its non-Covid side continues to grow. Danaher is expected to separate its environmental business later this year. 3. Stick with Foot Locker We're picking up some shares of Foot Locker (FL) on weakness Monday with FL shares down 1.7% at roughly $40 apiece. It's possible investors are reading Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) bankruptcy news as a signal to exit retail. But Foot Locker has a strong plan in place to turn around the business led by Mary Dillon. We initiated a position in the sneaker and athletic wear retailer last month because we're bullish on the company's reset, which is expected to boost annual sales and margins in the years to come. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long HAL, DHR, FL. 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.