The stock market bounced back this week. The S & P 500 on Friday rose above its July 28 record close but finished just shy of it. The Nasdaq did, however, finish at a new record closing high. It was a strong week dominated by tariff headlines and Apple’s success in appeasing President Donald Trump with a big U.S. investment commitment. Club earnings were also on our radar. For the week, the S & P 500 gained 2.4%, and the Nasdaq advanced 3.9%. Apple stock led the way higher, surging more than 13% this week and turning in its third-best weekly performance in the past decade. It was our top stock, ending the week on a three-session winning streak that started Wednesday when Apple announced a $100 billion increase to the $500 billion it had already pledged to investing in the United States over the next four years. As part of that investment, Apple will fund a $2.5 billion expansion of iPhone and Apple Watch glass maker Corning . Apple is also investing in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing capacity. As a result of the commitment, Trump said that Apple will be exempt from the 100% tariff he announced Wednesday on semiconductor imports. The president said, “If you’re building in the United States of America, there’s no charge.” While a temporary electronics exemption from earlier this year keeps Apple safe from the worst of the “reciprocal” tariffs that went into effect Thursday, there is no telling how long that exemption will last. So, it’s great that Cook managed to get back into Trump’s good graces, and the stock move this week reflects that. Apple shares, however, have been struggling and were still down more than 8% year to date. With Trump off its back for now, the company must seize the opportunity to remove the other concerns about its stock by clarifying its artificial intelligence strategy and shoring up threats to its high-margin services business. AAPL YTD mountain Apple YTD Also, this week, Trump announced a 25% increase on India’s tariff rate due to Russian oil purchases. It’s set to go into effect on Aug. 27, which would bring the levy rate on India up to 50%. We’ll have to see where that shakes out as India is where Apple manufactures the iPhones it plans to sell in the U.S. The rest of the world will get iPhones made in China, which is still talking to the U.S. about a trade truce. Trump told CNBC on Tuesday that he’s looking to implement a “small tariff” on pharmaceuticals, but the rate will increase over time. He said that a level as high as 250% is not out of the question. That news was no picnic for drug stocks, which are already under pressure from the president to cut prescription prices. As if that weren’t enough, Eli Lilly stock took another leg down as strong earnings Thursday were overshadowed by lackluster weight loss results from the company’s phase three trial looking at the effects of its obesity pill, orforglipron. The trial data forced us to downgrade shares to our looking-for-a-level-to-sell 3 rating and cut our price target. Lilly shares suffered a weekly loss nearly 18%, the worst week since October 2008. The Club stock was our bottom performer for the week. Within the Club portfolio this week, we also heard from five others, including DuPont , which reported a beat and raise quarter with strong cash flow results. The stock reaction did not, in our view, reflect the strength, so we reiterated our buy-equivalent 1 rating, upped our price target, and stepped in to pick up 100 more shares. DuPont stock rose less than 1% this week. Coterra Energy released largely positive results, driven by higher-than-expected total production. However, strong as the execution by management is, Jim Cramer said, “You can’t outrun your commodity, not if both commodities you’re in are bad,” prompting us to reiterate our 3 rating and trim our price target. Coterra shares gained nearly 1.4% on the week. Eaton reported a beat-and-raise quarter. However, investors took issue with management’s third-quarter outlook and 2025 profit guidance. The midpoint of full year adjusted earnings per share guidance was raised, management shaved a little off the top end. Nonetheless, we saw a lot to like beyond the third quarter and, therefore, raised our Eaton price target and upgraded shares back to a 1 rating. Eaton stock lost nearly 4.9% this week. Disney’s quarter wasn’t the cleanest, but we saw strength in all the right places. While sales missed, earnings beat. We also saw operating income beats in streaming, sports, and experiences. As a result, we upgraded shares back to a 1 rating and raised our price target. Disney shares lost more than 3.5% on the week. Texas Roadhouse reported mixed results. Sales outpaced expectations; however, profitability took a hit due to elevated beef prices. The restaurant chain operator delivered strong comparable sales and said the ongoing third quarter was off to a great start. With demand clearly strong but profitability coming under pressure, we opted to maintain our 2 rating. Texas Roadhouse stock lost 5.5% this week. According to FactSet, 90% of S & P 500 companies have now reported second-quarter results, and 81% of them have posted upside surprises for both sales and earnings. The data provider said, “Both the percentage of S & P 500 companies reporting positive earnings surprises and the magnitude of earnings surprises are above their 10-year averages.” The report also noted that, versus the year-ago period, nine S & P 500 sectors have reported earnings growth, led by communication services, information technology, and financials, while the other two, energy and materials, have reported year-over-year declines. Dow stock Cisco Systems , our newest name, is the only portfolio company reporting earnings next week. (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. 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In a pivotal week for tariffs, how Apple shined and drove the Nasdaq to new highs
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