CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday that the stock market has still not priced in the economic recovery that will come once Covid vaccinations are widespread.
“The market has not priced it in. Not at all … I think that the animal spirts of people will override even what we see in the stock market,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.”
The latest leg of the U.S. equity market’s remarkable rally from its Covid-sparked selloff has been driven in part by positive news on the vaccine front. Federal regulators authorized drugs from Moderna and Pfizer late last year, and Johnson & Johnson‘s single-shot vaccine showed promise in early trials, with phase-three results expected later this month.
The S&P 500 has gained more than 8% since Pfizer announced its preliminary phase-three results on Nov. 9, with stocks rising despite turmoil in Washington and the economic recovery slowing.
Cramer made the comments in response to an interview on “Squawk Box” with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who predicted an economic boom during the back half of 2021.
“When we have heard immunity through vaccinations, we’re going to see the industries that are still struggling, the industries around the aggregation and congregation of human beings … that’s when you’re going to start seeing — most certainly in the fourth quarter, or maybe by the third quarter — a really extended economic rally,” Fink said.
Cramer did warn that increased spending on travel and other activities could take some cash out of the stock market, but said that another round of stimulus could lead to retail investors continuing to buy stocks while also increasing their spending.
