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  1. Home
  2. / Investing
  3. / Basic Materials

Inconsistent Action

Mineral stocks are down while industrials rally, and retailers are all over the map.
By JIM CRAMER
Mar 13, 2013 | 04:27 PM EDT
Stocks quotes in this article: CL, PG, VALE, FCX, VMW, BRCM, BBBY, BBY

Rotation's pretty obvious today. We are seeing the Colgate-Palmolives (CL) and Procter & Gambles (PG) trying and struggling to go higher and not doing all that well.

We are also seeing the minerals acting terribly again, courtesy of China. But we've got the industrials continuing to rally, and the transports? What can I say about them? They are and have been the beacon.

This tape is just about exactly what the doctor ordered. The 19x earnings stocks are peaking for the moment while the 10x to 12x earnings stocks are coming on strong.

The newfound hatred of anything China is reminiscent of the hatred of anything Apple (AAPL). Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) is horrendous. I am stunned that there is no level where Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) can bottom. That stock acts as if it is the J.C. Penney (JCP) of minerals. The coal stocks are just pathetic again, even as the rails that carry the stuff can't seem to be stopped. I am watching the selling in Vale (VALE) being so obvious -- meaning the seller can't finish no matter what -- that is totally overdone, but then again, it's Chinatown.

The good news today is that non-Apple tech is doing better. The action in VMWare (VMW) and Broadcom (BRCM) (up for a second day) is totally reassuring.

All that said, this day is still a quandary. What do we make of a small number cut in Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) that annihilates the stock, or the continued decline in Ross Stores (ROST), while the underperforming Best Buy (BBY) keeps going higher? The homebuilders, long the leaders, can't rally, but the home improvement plays can't be stopped.

Lots of inconsistent action for the ninth Dow up day.

Not bad. Not good. Just very inconsistent and very difficult to game individual stocks from day to day. 

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer co-manages as a charitable trust, is long AAPL and VALE.

TAGS: Investing | U.S. Equity | Basic Materials | Consumer Staples | Industrials | Consumer Discretionary | Stocks

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