JP Morgan set the benchmark. Now watch the banks

After hours of marveling at the tape’s incessant march higher, CNBC’s Jim Cramer took a step back to check the market layout.

“What’s driving it? … Same as always: [a] stock shortage — it’s really been acute in the industrials — 401(k) money being thrown at the market, animal spirits, a stronger consumer, tax reform, deregulation and a general revaluation higher,” the “Mad Money” host said. “Who’s doing the leading? Once again, it’s Boeing, it’s Caterpillar, it’s Adobe, it’s Alphabet, it’s Apple, and it’s Netflix.”

Certainly, the layout can change. On Friday, shares of frequent market leader Facebook were taken down after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he wanted to change its News Feed to promote “meaningful social interactions.”

But Facebook’s 4 percent decline failed to jolt the broader market. Instead, a strong earnings report from J.P. Morgan propelled its stock and the market to new highs, erasing worries that one-time charges would make the numbers look worse than expected.

“J.P. Morgan’s a terrific place to actually start the discussion for next week’s game plan because it did set a benchmark that other banks, which all report next week, I think are going to find hard to beat,” Cramer said.

With that in mind, the “Mad Money” host turned to the stocks and events he’ll be watching next week: