Jim Cramer names conditional stock ideas for a weak market

Jim Cramer stocks to buy is the focus of a new CNBC Investing Club column that ties a group of ideas to a hypothetical sharp fall in oil prices. Cramer wrote that 40% of S&P 500 companies had at one point during the prior week fallen into bear-market territory, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average finished Friday more than 19% below its 52-week high.

The views are conditional market commentary from Cramer, rather than a report of completed trades. The supplied column also ends mid-discussion, so it does not establish a complete list of stocks he intended to buy.

Which stocks did Jim Cramer say could benefit from lower oil prices?

Cramer placed transportation companies at the centre of his scenario. He called transports the market area “most vulnerable to the upside” if oil were to fall sharply, and identified FedEx and FedEx Freight as companies that could become sought after in that setting.

The scenario depends on a geopolitical outcome that has not occurred. Cramer asked readers to consider the possibility that an end to the Iran conflict could trigger a steep decline in oil prices. That is a forecast and not an established market outcome.

He also described Boeing as an ancillary possibility. The column cited Boeing’s agreement with its white-collar union on a four-year contract proposal, a Navy fighter contract and the Federal Aviation Administration’s finding that a recently identified software glitch was not a flight-safety issue. Cramer said he had waited for the FAA’s assessment before considering action on the shares.

How did the column connect banks and housing to the scenario?

Cramer argued that banks could benefit in an oil-price-collapse scenario because of what he called pent-up demand for mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings. He singled out Goldman Sachs, saying investors should continue to own it and consider buying on an expected estimate cut. The column also referred to reports that Anthropic had engaged Goldman to co-lead an IPO transaction.

Wells Fargo was another idea discussed. Cramer cited chief executive Charlie Scharf’s efforts to remake the bank and the lender’s national presence, but did not report a new purchase.

For housing-linked spending, Cramer pointed to Home Depot. His rationale was that lower long-end bond yields could bring mortgage rates down if the Federal Reserve held rates steady. He wrote that Home Depot had declined more than 20% since Aug. 7 as yields rose. Best Buy and Stanley Black & Decker were also mentioned, although he described a return to those stocks as a leap of faith and noted that Best Buy had been rising.

The market backdrop remains unsettled in Cramer’s account. He said the Federal Reserve had raised rates for the first time in three years in the prior month and that further tightening could follow by year-end. CNBC’s Investing Club says its information creates no fiduciary duty and does not guarantee any outcome or profit.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.