CNBC Investing Club: Market Update and Qnity Electronics CFO Appointment

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street.

Markets are headed for a positive finish on Friday, but it's been a tough week for stocks overall. While the healthcare, energy and materials sectors posted gains for the week, it was a struggle for industrials, technology and utilities, the sectors that play a critical role in supporting the AI infrastructure buildout and powering data centers. We are questioning whether the group's sell-off is tied to growing political pushback against data centers ahead of November's midterm elections.

Qnity Electronics announced Ken Rizvi will be its next chief financial officer starting Oct. 1. He will replace Michael Goss, who has been serving as CFO under an interim tag. Rizvi is joining Qnity after a short stint as the CFO of Synaptics. Shares are down almost 3% on Friday, but we're not sure that reflects the hire. Qnity's main semiconductor-materials peer, Entegris, also traded lower Friday. If anything, the appointment probably removes some uncertainty about who will help run the company. The stock has had a tough week, falling roughly 9% alongside others tied to the AI infrastructure buildout. Despite making a ton of money, the stock remains underappreciated and undercovered by Wall Street. That could change if more tech analysts start covering the stock and pushing it to their clients. Qnity was spun off from DuPont last fall.

Next week is an important one for Nvidia, which is scheduled to report earnings Wednesday, and its results, outlook, and CEO Jensen Huang's commentary could shape investor sentiment around the AI trade heading into the fall. CrowdStrike and Salesforce also report Wednesday evening. CrowdStrike's results will tell us how enterprises are preparing their security budgets amid growing cybersecurity risks, while Salesforce's numbers will offer a read on demand for traditional enterprise software tools.

In data, notable economic releases include the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, the PCE price index, durable goods orders, the second read on second-quarter GDP, and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment. Wrapping up the week is the annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, where Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will deliver the keynote speech on Friday at 10 a.m. ET.