Rotation into defensives, Costco sales

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 Thursday’s key moments. Rotation into defensives Stick with Costco Constellation reports solid Q4 1. Rotation into defensives Stocks were mixed Thursday in late-morning trading after initial jobless claims for the week ended April 1 came in higher than expected, according to the U.S. Labor Department, in the latest sign that hiring is cooling. Wall Street will be closely watching the agency’s monthly jobs report for March on Friday for clearer signs on the state of the labor market. But fresh indications the economy is slowing have prompted a rotation this week into defensive stocks like staples and health care, and out of technology and cyclicals — supporting Club holdings like Procter & Gamble (PG). Meanwhile, oil prices edged down slightly Thursday morning, while Treasury yields were flat. 2. Stick with Costco Club holding Costco Wholesale (COST) reported Wednesday after the closing bell that overall same-store sales fell 1.1% last month , the first such drop in roughly three years. But traffic at Costco stores remained robust, up 4.6% in March. That’s likely because Costco members are cutting back on pricier discretionary items like home furnishings and jewelry, while sticking to essentials like food. Costco stock was down 2.33% Thursday morning, at $485.53 a share. But we’re holding onto the stock in part on the expectation a membership-fee increase — which would bolster the wholesale retailer’s bottom line — and a dividend raise could both be on the horizon. 3. Constellation reports solid Q4 Constellation Brands (STZ) on Thursday delivered a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat, with earnings-per-share (EPS) coming in at $1.98 apiece, ahead of analysts’ forecasts for $1.83 a share. The beermaker — known for brands like Corona and Modelo Especial — also issued full-year guidance for its fiscal 2024 ahead of the consensus estimate. Looking ahead, “we’re going into the seasonally best time to own this company,” Jim Cramer said Thursday, indicating that Constellation’s high-end beers should see further growth as the weather warms in the coming months. Stay tuned for a full Club write-up of the results later Thursday. Shares of STZ were trading up roughly 1.4%, at $224.55 apiece. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long PG, COST, STZ. 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…