CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Tuesday he believes investors should be optimistic about the US economic recovery in the months leading up to a widely available Covid-19 vaccine.
“I’m just not buying the negativity here” in the stock market, Cramer said in “Squawk Box,” noting the potential benefits of the $ 900 billion coronavirus stimulus package approved by Congress on Monday.
The bill, which came after months of stalemate on Capitol Hill, includes a $ 600 direct payment for many Americans, a federal unemployment benefit of $ 300 a week, and additional funds for small business loans. It is also providing money to aid in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines and to assist in testing and contact tracking. President Donald Trump has yet to sign it.
“I actually thought the $ 900 billion package was very well thought out. I know it’s considered flaccid. I don’t think so,” said Cramer, who described it as “the $ 900 billion bridge” to a vaccine. “I’m just a pessimist in the sense that so many things went wrong before we got the bill. I’m an optimist in the future,” added the host of “Mad Money”.
Healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities are given priority in the first set of available vaccine doses. So far, the Food and Drug Administration has approved emergency use for Moderna shots, as has Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.
Johnson & Johnson, which has fully enrolled its phase three clinical trial, has said it could file for limited regulatory approval in February if its vaccine proves safe and effective.
The available supply of Covid-19 vaccines is expected to increase in the coming months, opening up a wider pool of Americans for the injections. Cramer has said he believes J & J’s vaccine could be crucial in increasing vaccine availability next year.
Cramer’s comments came when Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were largely flat. In morning trading, the Dow was down 150 points, or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was also slightly negative. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was modestly lower.
Shares had a volatile session on Monday as Wall Street worried about a new strain of coronavirus circulating in the UK. However, some public health experts believe that the existing Covid-19 vaccines still provide immunity against the emerging virus variant.
In addition to incentive benefits, Cramer said stocks are likely to continue to be helped by investors starting to invest money in the market. “A lot of new money is coming in,” he said.