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CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Monday that he’s not running away from the U.S. stock market just yet despite the sharp decline on Wall Street due to China‘s currency devaluation.
“There are discounts happening and I think people have to be cognizant, but not everything should be thrown out here,” Cramer said on “Squawk Box, ” before Monday’s open. “I’m not sanguine, but I’m also not running from this market, because I think there are some real values being created.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 400 points in early trading as uncertainty reigned over China allowing its currency to slide overnight to its lowest level in more than a decade.
With no solution in sight to the U.S.-China trade dispute, the Chinese currency crossed the closely watched seven-yuan-for-a-dollar barrier. The move was in retaliation to President Donald Trump unexpectedly announcing last week new tariffs on Chinese goods, which are set to take effect on Sept. 1.
“I thought the market would be down more, frankly,” the “Mad Money ” host said, urging investors to look at stocks down 10% from recent highs with muted exposure to China. “I really want to steer clear of China.”
Later on “Squawk on the Street, ” Cramer said, “There are a lot of people who feel that once you get into a currency war, there’s going to be lots of different repercussions.” However, he added that he’s not one of them.
Cramer said investors should be focusing more on the political unrest in Hong Kong, where hundreds of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets since early June, in sharp opposition of a measure that would have allowed people in the city to be extradited to Mainland China. The proposed bill has been suspended, but demonstrations have continued and shifted into a movement calling for autonomy, full democracy, and the ousting of Hong Kong’s embattled leader.
“Should we not be more concerned about Hong Kong given the fact that it just doesn’t seem to stop?” Cramer asked, rhetorically.
