Every weekday, CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer publishes Homestretch – an actionable afternoon update just in time for the ultimate hour of trading on Wall Street. Markets: Wall Street was under pressure on Thursday, led by the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which fell greater than 2%. The S&P 500 fell greater than 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 260 points, or 0.6%. Selling in Microsoft and Meta Platforms following Wednesday night's earnings results weighed on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500. Compounding the weakness, the yield on the closely watched 10-year Treasury note continued to rise, at times topping 4.3%. within the meeting. Investors are bracing for Friday morning's nonfarm payrolls report, which is anticipated to indicate the U.S. economy added 100,000 jobs in October while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%. However, many expect the numbers to rise attributable to the impact of recent hurricanes and the Boeing attack. The data will help shape Wall Street's expectations for the course of Federal Reserve policy. Currently, traders are pricing in a couple of 95 percent likelihood of a quarter-point rate cut at next week's central bank meeting. Earlier Thursday, the PCE price index, the Fed's favorite inflation gauge, was consistent with expectations, rising 2.1% in September. Cyber Deal: Morgan Stanley released a note on club holding company Palo Alto Networks on Thursday morning that caught our attention. It covered reports that the cybersecurity leader had signed a five-year, roughly $1 billion software licensing take care of the Defense Department. A Palo Alto Networks executive also posted about it on LinkedIn, without mentioning the dollar amount or duration. “While the timing of bookings or revenue recognition is not yet clear, we believe this could provide tailwinds for several years,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote to clients. These headlines could help support Palo Alto stocks in Thursday's downtrend. The stock fluctuated between slight gains and losses, holding up significantly higher than an exchange-traded fund tracking the cybersecurity industry, which fell greater than 1% within the session. Shares of our other cyber holding, CrowdStrike, fell nearly 4% on Thursday. Of course, Morgan Stanley tried to temper expectations of the reported Palo Alto deal. For example, the corporate noted that the contract was awarded through software reseller Carahsoft, meaning it “likely includes a reseller margin of approximately 15% for Carahsoft.” Still, analysts said they “believe this contract award…suggests that the Defense Department's big but elusive opportunity may finally become a reality.” Palo Alto didn’t reply to CNBC's request for comment on the licensing agreement. The company experienced some weakness in its federal government business earlier within the yr and likewise scaled back expectations for the following few quarters, adding to the confusion in its February earnings report. Recently, Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora said on an August earnings call that the corporate continues to have “muted expectations” for its government business attributable to the election. The decision within the trial is imminent: We are preparing for an early verdict in the most recent trial against Abbott Labs, which involves allegations that the special premature baby formula causes an intestinal disease, commonly abbreviated as NEC. The company has strongly denied the claims and recently received the support of major U.S. health agencies, which in a press release earlier this month supported the usage of formulas like Abbott's to treat premature babies. “There is no conclusive evidence that preterm formula causes NEC,” authorities wrote. However, the judge in Abbott's trial, which took place in Missouri's twenty second Judicial District, didn’t allow this statement to be shown to the jury within the case. For this reason, we don’t expect a positive verdict for the club holding company. A loss on this case could send the stock tumbling, but that might represent a buying opportunity, in response to Jeff Marks, director of portfolio evaluation. This is because while Abbott faces additional lawsuits over its formula, we expect the U.S. health regulators' statement to be admitted into evidence in future cases. Next up: Apple, Amazon and Coterra Energy will report quarterly results after the closing bell on Thursday. Outside the portfolio, we will even hear from Intel, US Steel and Juniper Networks. As mentioned, the large event on Friday is the October nonfarm payrolls report. Chevron, Exxon Mobil and chemical maker LyondellBasell Industries were amongst Friday's notable earnings reports. 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