Charts suggest the S&P 500 is at a make-or-break moment, Cramer says

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Wednesday stated that the benchmark S&P 500 is at a crossroads, poised to both tumble additional or roar greater.

“The charts, as interpreted by Jessica Inskip, recommend that we’re all at a vital second the place the S&P 500 discovered an equilibrium between the ground of assist and a ceiling of resistance. At this level, one thing has to present,” he stated.

Shares tumbled on Wednesday after contemporary December retail gross sales information renewed fears of a recession. Traders additionally took earnings on positive aspects from earlier this month, spurred by gentle financial information that advised the Federal Reserve is profitable its battle towards inflation.

The S&P 500 fell to its lowest degree in a few month, whereas the Nasdaq broke a seven-day streak of positive aspects.

To elucidate the evaluation from Inskip, who’s the director of product and schooling at OptionsPlay, Cramer examined the each day chart of the S&P 500 relationship again to November 2021.

The chart exhibits that earnings season is usually a time of volatility marked by robust rallies and declines. It additionally exhibits that the S&P 500 has been on a downtrend for over a 12 months, with the downtrend line performing as a ceiling of resistance for the market because the Federal Reserve started its battle towards inflation in November 2021, in line with Cramer.

Inskip notes that the ceiling has by no means been breached even after highly effective rallies from the final two earnings cycles, he added.

However whereas the previous two earnings seasons began with the index at ranges near the low finish of its buying and selling finish, the present fourth-quarter earnings season noticed the S&P 500 begin proper under the ceiling, Cramer stated.

“Good [earnings] numbers may give us extra upside than we have seen from the previous couple of quarters, however dangerous ones would possibly imply the S&P heads proper again right down to the low finish of the vary,” he stated.

For extra evaluation, watch Cramer’s full clarification under.