Jim Cramer says these two themes are determining how stocks trade

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday he believes Wall Street is taking its cues from two primary areas right now, and stock market investors need to be plugged in accordingly.

“There are two major themes going on right now: supply chain disruption … and that’s including energy shortages, and the fact that interest rates are going higher,” the “Mad Money” host said. “You need to know about these two themes every minute of every day if you’re going to pick stocks because that’s what’s driving the averages.”

Cramer’s comments came after a mixed session for stocks Monday, during which the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 71 points, or 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.5%. The broad S&P 500 fell 0.3%.

The move in stocks came as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note briefly topped 1.5% to hit its highest level since June. The jump in bond yields, which move inversely to prices, put pressure on growth-oriented stocks, many of which are in the technology sector.

All three major U.S. equity indexes are lower for September, a historically tough month on Wall Street. The Dow is lower by 1.4%, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 are down 1.9% and 1.76%, respectively.

Cramer has described his overall market outlook as neutral in recent weeks, citing the seasonal headwinds and uncertainty on a number of factors such as Covid hospitalizations, the health of the labor market and policy negotiations in Washington.

However, Cramer has said he sees some opportunities to buy individual companies into weakness. For example, he said Monday investors who have long-term horizons can add shares of “best of breed” tech firms such as Amazon, Apple and Salesforce after those stocks got dented by the rise in bond yields.