Cramer says the stock market is unusually fragile, use rallies to raise cash

Jim Cramer advised investors on Tuesday to use rallies as an opportunity to sell and better handle volatility in the currently tumultuous market.

“When things look really horrible and we’ve been down for days and days and days, you don’t need to despair, you just need to be more clever. Raise some cash on the up move, and steel yourself for the next decline if either oil prices” or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine becomes more aggressive, the “Mad Money” host said.

Cramer’s comments come after the markets trended upwards on Tuesday after weeks of being battered by Wall Street’s fears of the Russia-Ukraine war, soaring inflation and Covid outbreaks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.8%, while the Nasdaq increased 2.9%. The broad market index gained 2.1%.

Tech stocks led the rally, and airline stocks rose after major carriers reported upbeat revenue outlooks. Oil prices fell to below $100 a barrel after topping $130 around a week earlier.

“I heard that the whole rally [on Tuesday] was short-covering and could be dismissed, we could go right back down tomorrow if the Fed says the wrong thing. There’s some truth to that. This market’s about as fragile as any I’ve seen in years,” Cramer said, referring to the Federal Reserve‘s expected announcement of a quarter-percentage-point rate hike following the conclusion of its meeting on Wednesday.

However, he added that investors should remain calm as the market remains volatile instead of fearing downturns — and use spikes in the market, even when they are short-lived, to strategically trim their holdings.

“We’re constantly being reminded that this market goes down, not in a stair-step fashion, but in a couple of days’ decline followed by a spike … I think this spike is still a good chance to reposition,” Cramer said.