Club meeting recap: Equities edge down, Estee Lauder, Caterpillar
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. Equities lower ahead of inflation data Watch Estee Lauder Buy Caterpillar 1. Equities lower ahead of inflation data Stocks edged lower Monday morning, as investors look ahead to important inflation data this week. The U.S. consumer price index and producer price index are set to be released Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, potentially informing the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates. The central bank last week raised rates by 25 basis points, while signaling it could pause hikes going forward. However, stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs numbers for April, released Friday, could force the bank to pursue another rate raise — even as the data pleased investors who have feared a recession is brewing. The S & P 500 was down 0.11%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.22%. Oil prices, meanwhile, climbed more than 2% after losing more than 7% last week. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at around $73 a barrel. 2. Watch Estee Lauder Nelson Peltz isn't going to do anything with Estee Lauder (EL), the activist investor told Jim Cramer Monday. Jim reached out after a Sunday report in the New York Post claimed Peltz was considering a shakeup at the Club holding. The stock was up some 5% in premarket trading Monday. But most of those gains evaporated ahead of the opening bell and into regular trading on Wall Street. Shares had plummeted 17% on Wednesday after the prestige beauty firm reported a mixed third-quarter , along with dismal guidance. Following its latest weak quarter, Jim warned that Estee Lauder's next report may not be that strong either, as recovery in the Asia travel retail business continues to materialize. 3. Buy Caterpillar Baird on Monday lowered its price target on manufacturing firm Caterpillar (CAT) to $180 a share, from $185, while maintaining an underperform rating on the stock. The firm contends Caterpillar has reached its peak backlog in the wake of the company's first-quarter results late last month However, that's a pessimistic, short-term view. We continue to expect Caterpillar will be a major beneficiary of U.S. government infrastructure spending starting this year, and added to our CAT position Monday. Shares of Caterpillar, down more than 10% year-to-date, were trading mainly flat, at around $215 apiece. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AAPL, EL, CAT. 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.