CNBC’s Jim Cramer reviewed Monday’s market action, chalking up the day’s performance to expectations about the White House’s next move. He advised that investors prepare for turbulence, even as some on Wall Street continue to have optimism about President Donald Trump’s impact on big business.
“We have to be ready for disappointment, because we’ve seen it over and over and over again,” he said. “This administration is perfectly willing to disappoint the stock market…to advance their agenda, and it’s foolish that you should believe otherwise.”
According to Cramer, the past two sessions have been shaped by changing notions of trade relations between the U.S. and China. After opening lower on Monday, stocks managed to finish in the green by close. Cramer said Wall Street was encouraged after a senior White House official told CNBC that Trump is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping very soon.
Cramer remarked that with one report, “the market did an entire 180.” He speculated about whether the president is content to have “a genuine trade peace with China,” even as investors are largely hopeful Trump will change course and loosen restrictions on semiconductor exports to the country.
But Cramer noted that there are still broader fears pushing a number of stocks down. Dell reported a strong quarter last week. According to Cramer, shares later dipped in part because investors worried about the administration’s push to squeeze federal contractors — many of whom buy equipment from the company. Government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton has also seen its stock get crushed, he continued. New tariffs have also spurred the declines of many U.S. outfits with major suppliers abroad, including Gap and Apple, Cramer added.
“We’re always one posting, one whisper away from rallying or declining,” Cramer said. “As long as we recognize that the President’s in control of the stock market — at least, when he wants to be — we can make sense of this tape.”
The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment.
