After a hotter-than-expected consumer price index report, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that inflation has not declined enough for the central bank to consider making rate cuts in the near future. The Fed has held its benchmark interest rate target steady since July 2023 after issuing 11 consecutive hikes in about a year to combat post-Covid inflation.
Cramer said he maintains that the economy is too strong for rate cuts, and has been telling investors that they “shouldn’t hold their breath” for the Fed to start easing rates. However, he did acknowledge that companies operating in economically sensitive industries such as J.B. Hunt and Prologis, in trucking and warehousing, respectively, did show less-than-ideal earnings results.
“For the first time in this rate hike cycle, I see light at the end of the tunnel, just when others see the light of an oncoming train,” he said. “Before there are bargains for Prologis, there will be free rent enticements for the customer. Before a turn in trucking, there’ll be cuts in trucking rates.”
Prologis and J.B. Hunt did not immediately respond to request for comment.