CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Friday offered his usual strategy for next week on Wall Street, but acknowledged the difficulty of looking ahead as war breaks out in the Middle East and oil supplies are disrupted.
“But obviously we don’t know how long the war will last. Oil has a mind of its own. As long as oil prices are rising, any other asset class could be on quicksand,” he said. “When oil goes up, stocks go down. This is it.”
Cramer’s comments came after a volatile week on Wall Street ended with further declines in major U.S. stock averages. For the week, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3%. The S&P 500 fell 2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.2%.
The pressure on stocks coincided with a historic rise in oil prices, a key cog in the global economy. This week, the U.S. oil benchmark WTI crude rose 35.6%, marking its biggest weekly gain since crude oil contracts began trading in 1983. WTI crude oil ended the week above $90 a barrel, up from the mid-$60s in late February.
Cramer said he wouldn’t be surprised if oil prices rose further, even though the Trump administration created a $20 billion reinsurance program for oil tankers. Kramer said shipping companies could still refuse to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for Persian Gulf oil exports, which would continue to disrupt supply. With that in mind, investors will continue to look for stocks that can withstand even higher oil prices.
“We can still make judgments about individual companies,” Kramer said. “What’s amazing to me is that oil shot up 35% in one week…and yet the market didn’t crash. Maybe the real payoff is there, not the oil premium.”
Monday
One of the first places to start is Casey’s General Storewill report quarterly results after the close of trading on Monday. The convenience store’s breakfast pizza is a fan favorite, but it also sells gasoline. With gas prices trending upward in the U.S., “some people may want to interpret that as a negative,” Kramer said. “But I think the crowd will be happy when it’s reported. … It’s the best chain store on Wall Street that no one has ever heard of.”
Tuesday
Before the opening bell, kohls We are planning to announce earnings. “This earnings season has been positive for almost all retailers,” Kramer said. He said Kohl’s could receive similar treatment, but said he preferred other higher-quality retail stocks at this point in time as the company rebuilds under a new CEO. For example, Cramer’s Charitable Trust, a portfolio used by the CNBC Investment Club. TJX companies For years.
oracle Here are some names to keep an eye on after Tuesday’s close. “It’s no exaggeration to say that Oracle is the most important company reporting next week,” Cramer said.
Cramer noted that since the stock price has fallen, it has been a headache for investors. Oracle’s stock price soared to an all-time high of about $328 per share in September, after the company reported a significant increase in its cloud computing backlog, primarily driven by OpenAI. But investors became concerned after Oracle took on large amounts of debt to finance data center construction, and the stock price has since more than halved. “We need to hear that data center construction is going well and that the company is starting to make a profit or will start making a profit soon,” Kramer said.
Drone manufacturer on Tuesday night too aviation environment will report, Cramer said the market will be looking for clarity about the recent controversy over one of its contracts with the Department of Defense.
Wednesday
The consumer price index for February will be released on Wednesday morning, but Cramer said the report is complicated by soaring oil prices, clouding the outlook for future inflation. “It’s critical that we give the impression that inflation is at least likely to come down, otherwise the Fed will have a hard time justifying further rate cuts because of the oil situation,” Cramer said.
Thursday
retailer dicks sporting goods, dollar general and ulta beauty Report everything. Retailers that reported strong results this week felt rewarded for their stocks. “For the same reason, unless oil prices skyrocket to $120, I think you can buy both Dollar General and Ulta Beauty. These fit the description of bargains, real bargains. They have them,” Cramer said.
Friday
Cramer said the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index was the most important economic announcement this week. This data set is the Fed’s preferred method for measuring inflation. And while it’s difficult to predict the future path of inflation due to the oil market, Cramer said he thinks the PCE report will give bulls an advantage.
