By Jeff Marks
Publication Date: 2026-03-05 19:23:00
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. The push and pull between the oil markets and equities continues . After a calm Wednesday, oil prices surged on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate topping $80 per barrel and reaching its highest level since July 2024 amid concerns about supply disruptions and a prolonged war. As oil prices rise, so do fears of inflation, which pushes the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield higher. The combination of rising oil prices, which act as a tax on consumers, with higher bond yields makes for an ugly combination for stocks. Over the past few days, spikes in oil prices have been met with commentary from the Trump administration about potential steps to stabilize the energy market. Nvidia shares turned lower after Bloomberg reported that the Trump Administration is drafting a plan that would give it more control over AI chip exports. According to the report, U.S. officials have drafted regulations requiring companies to seek U.S. approval to export AI accelerators to other countries. The report also says these rules wouldn’t function as an export ban but would instead make the U.S. government the “gatekeeper for the AI industry.” That’s an extremely important distinction, but it’s still surprising news because last May the Trump administration scrapped the Biden administration’s “AI diffusion rule” that…