CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday that sometimes the market gets “so darned ugly” that investors have no choice but to look at it as an opportunity.
Futures looked disastrous early Friday, he said, but stocks refused to follow — a sign that while plenty of companies are struggling, enough strong, solvent names have been “killed” enough to create potential bargains. The question now, he said, is what happens next week.
For Cramer, the answer is clear: everything hinges on Nvidia and what CEO Jensen Huang reports Wednesday night in the company’s earnings.
“If Nvidia is strong I think it can ignite not a bounce but a true rally,” Cramer said. “I can’t stress how important Nvidia is to this market because there is no AI revolution without Nvidia.”
Cramer said he believes the Federal Reserve’s messaging next week is the only real rival to Nvidia’s market importance, as it could shift the macro environment. New York Fed President John Williams is speaking next week and Cramer said that bulls need him to signal either peaked inflation or softened labor data to justify future rate cuts. With the December Fed meeting nearing, Cramer said he thinks a slightly dovish tone could prompt investors to cautiously reinvest.
“The next leg of this market comes down to the Federal Reserve and a few very important quarters,” Cramer said.
Next week’s earnings start Tuesday with Home Depot, downgraded Friday by Stifel over projected slower housing and ICE enforcement’s impact on traffic. Wednesday and Thursday feature more retailers. Cramer is watching if TJX repeats its strong quarter, if Target addresses its pricing gap with Walmart, and if Lowe’s keeps its momentum.
But everything, Cramer said, hinges on Wednesday night, when Nvidia reports.
Beyond headline numbers like revenue and guidance, Cramer said investors must hear that Nvidia’s next-generation Vera Rubin chips are ready and that the company is still firmly ahead of AMD. He doesn’t expect anything meaningful from the company’s China business but said Nvidia remains the heartbeat of the AI revolution and the engine of the data center boom.
“You get a good number for Nvidia and a big boost from the forecast, the next thing you know the other six members of the Mag Seven are going to start roaring,” he said.
