CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday that reacting to “false statements” in the market could be a costly mistake for investors.
“If you believe in the constant barrage of negative talk, you’re going to miss out on incredible buying opportunities in blue-chip stocks that don’t come around often,” Cramer told Mad Money on Monday, as major U.S. stock averages ended higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 1%, or 515 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.54% and 0.56%, respectively.
But that’s not the start of the week that appeared when futures markets opened Sunday night at 6 p.m. ET, Kramer noted. S&P futures opened lower, with falling prices for oil, natural gas, precious metals and cryptocurrencies (what Cramer called a “false link” between stocks and commodities) contributing to the sell-off. In his view, these reversals were primarily positive, not negative, for the economy, and there was no reason for investors to be scared.
Oil fell as geopolitical tensions with Iran eased, while natural gas plummeted on warmer weather forecasts, after prices soared in the wake of bitterly cold weather in the United States. These developments, Kramer argued, would reduce pressure on consumers and allow them to spend more money elsewhere in the economy.
Meanwhile, Cramer said silver would give back some of its speculation profits, leading to lower costs for electronics, electric vehicles and solar panels. Additionally, Cramer said he believes the weakness in cryptocurrencies could actually push capital back into the stock market.
“If we had known that these negatives were actually positive, we would have been able to buy a lot of stocks cheaper,” Cramer said, as futures-driven concerns drove stocks lower.
But Cramer said investors who dig beyond the headlines and futures movements can spot and profit from these discontinuities.
“If you’re addicted to pessimism, you’ve got to get out of it if you’re going to make real money in this stock market,” he said.
