Stocks try for back-to-back gains — plus, Qnity gets iPhone business from Apple

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.

Stocks are higher Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq poised for back-to-back days of gains. Earnings have been generally solid. Most major companies have been beating estimates and raising their full-year guidance. However, reaction to those better-than-expected reports has been mixed.

Oil and interest rates have been up and down. Crude was up a few dollars per barrel early Tuesday but then fell on hopes of progress toward a peace deal in the Middle East. The 10-year Treasury yield followed a similar path — inching higher at the start of the day before dropping on weak economic data.

Neocloud CoreWeave has had a volatile session, initially falling on growing concerns about its rising cost of capital before reversing course and moving higher. That action helped lift semiconductor stocks from their early losses.

Apple announced an expanded partnership with Qnity Electronics through the iPhone maker's American Manufacturing Program. Qnity will produce advanced films that are critical to the new variable aperture camera system in the iPhone 18 Pro. Qnity joined Apple's American Manufacturing Program back in March. A tighter partnership with Apple is incrementally positive for Qnity, and its increased involvement with the 18 Pro is a good sign that the relationship will hold with future iPhone generations. However, we aren't buying more shares on this news because we place greater emphasis on Qnity's fast-growing data center business than on consumer electronics, where the outlook is less favorable due to rising memory prices and other supply constraints. For a look at why Qnity is crucial to semiconductor manufacturing, watch our video tour of the $25 billion company's labs outside Boston.

Capital One Financial reports earnings after the closing bell, and we'll be focused on the credit card issuer's credit metrics in light of higher energy prices and interest rates. Expenses will also be a key line item as Capital One management continues to invest aggressively in integrating Discover and Brex. We want to see the synergies from Discover really start to show up. Capital One is a portfolio stock.

Other key companies reporting earnings on Tuesday evening are SpaceX, Netflix, United Airlines, Chubb, and Intuitive Surgical. Before Wednesday's open, Abbott Labs, AT&T, Thermo Fisher, Danaher, and Phillip Morris issue their quarterly results. On the data side, initial jobless claims and weekly mortgage applications are out. On Wednesday evening, Club name Meta Platforms reports earnings.