New York, April 9, 2026, 07:13 EDT
- Cramer pointed to Wednesday’s relief rally as a sign of the stocks money managers could chase once things settle down, listing Sherwin-Williams, Caterpillar, Home Depot, and Goldman Sachs.
- He’s kept eyes on Micron too, pointing out earlier this month that AI-fueled storage shortages have memory firms parked atop a “gold mine.” Still, he cautioned that market leadership remains too thin. Benzinga
- Futures edged down Thursday ahead of PCE inflation numbers, with renewed skepticism about the U.S.-Iran ceasefire sending oil prices up once more.
Jim Cramer pointed to Wednesday’s strong bounce in U.S. equities as a clear signal for investors: pay attention to which names lead on a relief rally. Among the standouts, the CNBC host mentioned Sherwin-Williams, Caterpillar, Home Depot, and Goldman Sachs—stocks that, he said, could see renewed institutional interest if Middle East tensions cool.
The call comes with the market looking shaky again early Thursday. U.S. stock futures slipped roughly 0.4%, oil bounced back as the ceasefire appeared unsteady, and Reuters-polled economists saw the personal consumption expenditures index—PCE, the Fed’s chosen inflation metric—stuck at 2.8%.
Cramer told “Mad Money” viewers on CNBC, “When you go through these lists of the best and worst performers, you can see what’s worth owning when things calm down and what’s untouchable.” He also said, “When the market gets hammered again, you know what the professional money managers will reach for.” Separately, in a CNBC Investing Club note, Cramer pointed to the rebound as proof of a core investing principle of his. LinkedIn
Earlier this month, his tone was a bit more bullish. Back then, he called Micron and other memory stocks a “gold mine,” pointing to AI data centers devouring more memory and storage than the market could provide. Still, he flagged a problem: market leadership looked “narrow, narrow, narrow,” meaning the rally was packed into just a handful of names. Benzinga
Investors piled back in, sending the Dow up 1,326.33 points to 47,910.79. The S&P 500 advanced 2.51%. Nasdaq outperformed, up 2.80%. Chip stocks caught fire, surging 6.3%. Travel, leisure, and homebuilding shares clawed higher, but energy names shed 3.7% as crude slipped under $100. “The market is quite relieved,” said Mike Dickson, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments, speaking to Reuters. Reuters
Micron wasn’t the only storage stock getting swept up in the AI infrastructure rebound. Traders piled into Western Digital and Seagate as well, sending both names higher. Over in Asia, Samsung projected its quarterly operating profit would jump nearly eightfold thanks to AI-driven demand outpacing chip supply and lifting prices. “As customers anticipated further increases, actual contract prices came in higher, leading to the beat,” said Kim Sunwoo, senior analyst at Meritz Securities. MarketWatch
Still, the rebound could evaporate quickly. Kiran Ganesh, multi-asset strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management, warned that fresh surges in rhetoric—or energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz falling short of expectations—shouldn’t catch investors off guard. Saul Kavonic at MST Marquee added that even a lasting peace might mean the oil market stays 3 million to 5 million barrels a day tighter compared to what was expected before the conflict, for years to come.
So, Thursday’s raft of data and headlines now pulls extra weight. Traders were assigning just a 30% probability to a quarter-point Fed cut by the end of 2026—sharply lower from 56% just the day before. Where stocks head next probably hinges on inflation easing and whether the truce sticks long enough for Wednesday’s rally to be more than just a fleeting bounce.
