Wall Street is ”being very cavalier’ about virus cases, election turmoil and stimulus uncertainty, Jim Cramer says

CNBC’s Jim Cramer struck a cautious tone after the stock market closed Wednesday.

There was mixed trading on Wall Street as the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both posted gains during the trading day.

“I think this market’s being very cavalier about the fact that we’re running at more than 130,000 new cases per day,” the “Mad Money” host said.

Cramer advised investors to look out for three critical issues that could weigh negatively on the market: rising coronavirus cases, the contested presidential election that Democrat Joe Biden is projected to have won and a collapse in stimulus spending negotiations in Washington.

“I hate to say it, but the Cramer Covid-19 index is back in play if we get one of the nightmare scenarios I just traced out,” Cramer said. “I am not saying these nightmares … will come true,” he added, “but when you’re managing your money, you need to consider potential risk factors.”

Texas, the second-most populated American state, has now reached a grim milestone as the first state to record 1 million recorded Covid-19 cases. The state is second only to New York state, which was severely impacted in the early months of the coronavirus outbreak, in deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

On Tuesday, the country set a new high for the seven-day average of daily positive tests at 121,153.

“Until our political leaders force bars and restaurants to close, I don’t see how we can get this thing under control,” Cramer said.

Investors have rotated out of stocks associated with the stay-at-home theme on Covid-19 vaccine optimism, but experts are warning that the winter months could be brutal as cases continue rising.

Cramer also warned that the market faces an uncertain future in the near term as President Donald Trump defiantly challenges Biden’s projected election victory. Uncertainty surrounding pending stimulus talks is also on the host’s mind.

“By denying the legitimacy of the election and trying to fight it any way they can, they’re certainly destabilizing the situation,” he said. “From the stock market’s perspective, that’s a problem.”