There just aren’t enough sectors in the S&P 500 for Jim Cramer to recommend buying stocks on the Brexit decline.
The reality is, though, that stocks are only back to where they were a little more than a month ago.
“That is not much of a discount when you consider that the S&P 500 was selling for 19 times earnings going into last Friday. You need the market to come down more,” the “Mad Money” host said.
On Feb. 11, the S&P was at 1,829 and the Dow Jones industrial average was at 15,647. Those levels are not reasonable downside targets, though. Back then oil traded at just $26 a barrel and many commodity companies looked as though they would fail to pay their bills, which could have translated into huge losses for U.S. banks.
Those potential losses are now off the table, as many oil companies have re-liquefied balance sheets by selling stock. Oil is now at $46 a barrel, which is very far from $26.
“That means the sell-off we are currently experiencing is NOT related to U.S. credit, and that is what makes this storm worth riding out. There is no systematic risk here; our banks will come out winners, no losers when the smoke clears, and it always does,” Cramer said.
But the real issue, in Cramer’s perspective, is that there isn’t much out there to buy. The S&P consists of 20 percent technology, which has the highest exposure to Europe of any sector. Then there is finance at 15 percent, which is also linked to Europe. There was at least some hope for Cramer in the health care group’s 14 percent exposure, especially with UnitedHealth, McKesson or Centene.
As for oil, it seems to be trapped between $45 and $50, and Cramer has little faith in the group when oil prices are falling. He expects the price to fall further because of the stronger dollar.
The domestic retailers and fast food stocks were once some of the easiest stocks to go to in this situation. But now Amazon is crushing bricks and mortar retail. Thus, he recommended looking for “non-Amazonable” stocks, such as TJX, Ross Stores, Dollar Tree and Dollar General.
As for the stocks that could work in this environment, Cramer recommended gold, utilities and telecom. Since the panic seems to be worldwide and interest rates are so low, which is why gold is a good option.
Cramer simply recommended the other two groups because they have a better yield than bonds. That can only happen if stock prices fall further, so yields can go up. Otherwise investors won’t get the prices they need.
“We need more sectors that are actually worth buying. Without them, we risk being too early when we try to take advantage of the prices we are now being given,” Cramer said.