Jim Cramer: Another day, another rally where stocks ‘go up on nothing’

CNBC’s Jim Cramer bemoaned Monday’s stock rally.

The Dow Jones moved about 250 points to 28,837.52, closing up 0.88%. The benchmark S&P 500 advanced 1.64% to 3,534.22 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite enjoyed a 2.56% rise to settle at 11,876.26.

“Another day, another rally where stocks, frankly, go up on nothing,” the “Mad Money” host said. “Sometimes stocks deserve to go up on nothing, but it still seems a little quizzical to see stocks levitate like they’re doing here.”

“Multiple expansion is what we saw today, when Wall Street got hyped about the best of the best,” he added.

Cramer pinned the blame, in part, on a couple of research pieces that helped send the stocks of Apple and Amazon higher on information that he feels is already widely known.

Apple, which hosts annual product launches in the second half of each year, will present the latest iPhone at a virtual event on Tuesday. Amazon’s Prime Day, the deal event that will be carried out over two days for the second year in a row, is starting Tuesday.

Wedbush Securities released a piece on Monday anticipating that the tech giant will receive a boost from a potential large iPhone upgrade cycle by consumers. Cramer thinks the analyst note set the bar too high for Apple, whose 6.35% gain on the day led the market higher, setting up the opportunity for disappointment.

Cramer also criticized another note from Cowen, where one analyst forecasts a “demand surge” for Amazon on Prime Day and this holiday season. The host said the information “brings nothing new to the table” and that it would be “harder for Amazon to live up to the hype” after the stock gained 4.75% in Monday’s market.

“Today’s rally really was based on hope and hype, not new facts,” Cramer said. “Can we go higher? Sure, but these prices are thin reeds that make me want to pull in my horns. When everyone starts agreeing with you … that’s when you need to get more cautious, not more exuberant.”

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Apple and Amazon.