Wait for market to decline more before putting cash to work

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Tuesday told investors to wait for the market to retreat more before doing any buying.

“The stock market, in its entirety, is still too high, so we have to let the averages come in before putting more money to work,” the “Mad Money” host said. “But it might be worth doing so because there are so many good things that can ultimately happen.”

All the major averages declined on Tuesday but are still on track for their best month of the year. Spooked investors sold off retail holdings after Walmart slashed its quarterly and full-year profit estimates due to inflation.

The Federal Reserve’s expected rate increase announcement set for Wednesday and a jam-packed slate of earnings from mega-cap tech names this week threaten to rock the market.

Skyrocketing inflation, the Russia-Ukraine war and Covid lockdowns in China also continue to weigh on the market.

Cramer said that investors likely won’t have any insight into where the market’s headed until after the Fed announces its rate increase and they should tread carefully in the meantime – especially as companies continue to report earnings.

“The treacherous thing about this market is that if you see even one stock coming down hard in a particular sector, you know the rest of them are gonna implode, too, perhaps coming down even harder than the original culprit,” he said.

Disclosure: Cramer’s Charitable Trust owns shares of Walmart.