Cramer reveals buying strategy on volatile trading days: 'There's always a bull market somewhere'

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday broke down his long-trusted playbook to game the market on volatile days for stock trading.

Equities on Wall Street spent the early part of the trading day in the red, coming under pressure as investors worried over new revelations about the coronavirus outbreak in the United Kingdom. The major indexes, however, later rebounded and finished well off their lows, prompting Cramer to remind “Mad Money” viewers that “nobody makes a dime panicking.”

“When I say there’s always a bull market somewhere, that doesn’t mean it’s always obvious,” said the “Mad Money” host, discussing his daily mantra. “Sometimes it’s less visible and you have to dig for it, but when the action’s looking ugly, you need to dig harder because that’s when you strike gold.”

Great Britain over the weekend placed new, more strict Covid restrictions on businesses and citizens in London and southern England in response to details of a coronavirus mutation discovered in the nation. With that news, investors can project that travel names will be hurt by the announcement, while stocks elsewhere on the market may sell off temporarily, creating opportunities to buy, Cramer said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell well below 30,000 during the session before rebounding to close up 37 points, or 0.12%, at 30,216.45. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed lower, dropping 0.39% at 3,694.92 and 0.10% at 12,742.52, respectively. Both indexes were down nearly 2% at their lows on the session.

“At the moment of maximum panic today, you were getting an incredible buying opportunity, so you had to hold your nose and search for the bull market,” Cramer said.

He offered insight into what he called his “bull market somewhere handbook” that he has relied on for nearly two decades.

Cramer instructed investors to look for stock-specific news, such as Nike’s earnings report and the Federal Reserve’s move to clear banks to resume stock buybacks on Friday. JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have all announced repurchase plans. 

“While the bank stocks finished strong, the whole group remains incredibly cheap, and now they finally have a reason to go up. I almost hope the market sells off again, giving you another chance to buy them on weakness.”

Cramer also suggested market participants search for companies that will benefit from government policies, such as the $900 billion stimulus program that Congress settled on after several months of division. Dollar General, Lowe’s and Home Depot fit this category, he said. 

“If the market rolls over tomorrow and they come down, you have to expect the analysts will start pounding the table about how these two [rehab retailers] hit it out of the park with the last stimulus package.”

Elsewhere, investors can find buying opportunities by following market research and compelling analyst calls. He also suggested relying on the stay-at-home plays, the companies that benefit from the lockdown environment and coronavirus uncertainty, such as Roku and DocuSign.

“There’s one thing you should never do when people are panicking: never try to buy something that’s down for a really good reason,” said Cramer, taking the time to criticize oil stocks.

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs.

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