Jim Cramer argues that the market’s lack of conviction is perfectly captured by the movements in shares of Apple.
As investors try to square conflicting reports on the state of the U. S. economy and U. S.-China trade relations, the action in shares of Apple has become a microcosm of the broader stock market, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday.
“In a way, Apple’s the perfect metaphor for this moment,” Cramer said as stocks swung higher after a wild trading session. Shares of the iPhone maker traded lower intraday on worries that a legal move by Qualcomm would stymie Apple’s sales in China, but managed to launch a small rebound into the close.
Cramer, host of “Mad Money,” argued that Apple’s moves perfectly captured how flighty investors have become as they struggle to keep their conviction intact in this volatile market.
For example, Apple’s stock dropped from $168 to $164 a share on the Qualcomm news. Then, on CNBC’s “Halftime Report,” all four panelists, including Cramer, said that Apple’s shares had hit an interesting level to consider buying.
All of a sudden, “the stock turned on a dime, rallying $4 bucks from its lows while the show was on. Now, I’ve scoured the wires — nothing else happened during that period,” Cramer said. “I think it’s a sign, a sign that jittery, insecure, underconfident traders will take their cue from anything.”
“Don’t get me wrong, everyone on that panel is worth listening to,” he continued.
