It’s a challenging moment for traders to game the market with Wall Street in the throes of earnings season, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday.
“Welcome to the gauntlet, the 72-hour period where the bulk of the biggest companies report. It’s pure mayhem out there,” the “Mad Money” host said. “Stocks are flying all over the place. You’ve got lots of operators who aren’t investing, they aren’t even trading; they’re just gambling, and often gambling ends badly.”
The comments come after household names like Microsoft, Google-parent Alphabet, Starbucks and Visa all posted quarterly results on the same day.
For short-term investors looking to capitalize on surprises, Cramer revealed his guide to navigating the earnings gauntlet.
“It’s far easier to invest in wrongfully convicted stocks that get knocked down because Wall Street misjudged their results,” he said. “The gauntlet just throws up a lot of buying opportunities, but you’ve got to know what to look for and you’ve got to use the checklist.”
The major averages were relatively flat during Tuesday trading. The Dow Jones added 3 points to close at 33,984.93. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed slightly lower.
