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The stock market’s rebound Friday is the beginning of a “real rally,” and the only thing that could hurt it is the Federal Reserve, according to CNBC’s Jim Cramer.
Cramer, who has been critical of Fed leadership under Jerome Powell in recent days, contended Friday that the central bank should hike interest rates one more time this year and then “wait and see.”
“I want to Yellen-ize,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” “I think the [current] Fed is vastly out of touch.”
Cramer was referring to former Fed Chair Janet Yellen, Powell’s predecessor. During her tenure, Yellen was cautious about raising rates while stressing that any future moves would depend on what the economic data showed.
“Janet Yellen would say, ‘Let’s just do one, and let’s see,'” Cramer said. “I miss Janet Yellen.”
Stock futures were sharply higher Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average set to open more than 300 points higher. The Dow later was up more than 400 points in early trading. But it paired those gains and even turned negative for a while.
This week’s decline in stocks, the worst since late March, was fueled by concern the Powell Fed might raise rates more than forecast. The central bank has already hiked rates three times this year, with one more expected in December.
President Donald Trump repeatedly slammed Powell this week, saying the Fed is increasing rates too quickly and that stronger economic growth won’t lead to problematic inflation.
On Monday, Cramer said that the Fed’s shift from being data dependent to being blinded by the desire to normalize rates could spell trouble for stocks.
Cramer turned out to be right, with the heaviest selling of the week on Wednesday and Thursday, knocking the Dow down nearly 1,400 points, or more than 5.2 percent, in two sessions.