Jim Cramer says there’s money to be made before the Fed cuts rates

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday unpacked Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments on inflation, saying that even though it’s unclear when rates will come down, there is money to be made in the interim.

He encouraged investors to buy stocks and not just keep money in lower-risk investments.

“I’m beginning to believe that the biggest money will be made between this period where the Fed’s holding pat and the moment where we get the first rate cuts,” Cramer said. “If I’m right, you’re gonna be kicking yourself if you insist in parking all your cash in CDs or Treasurys. Find some room for some stocks please, and I do not think you will regret it.”

After the Federal Reserve’s meeting last week, Powell said the central bank would cut rates sometime this year, but not likely in March, when many on Wall Street expected. Powell doubled down on this stance in a Sunday interview with “60 Minutes.”

“We want to see more evidence that inflation is moving sustainably down to 2%,” Powell told the news magazine’s Scott Pelley. “Our confidence is rising. We just want some more confidence before we take that very important step of beginning to cut interest rates.”

Cramer conceded that some investors think stocks are a reckless option until the Fed starts cutting. But by the time that happens, he said it will be too late to see gains.

“When you look at the sectors that are screaming higher right now — the techs, the industrials, the rails, travel and leisure and healthcare — you can throw darts at the winners,” he said. “And if you own a Meta Platforms or an Amazon or an Nvidia, you know that 5% you’d get from a CD is the kind of thing a great stock can give you in a week or even a day.”

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Disclaimer The CNBC Investing Club Charitable Trust holds shares of Meta, Amazon and Nvidia.