• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Doug Kass
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Investing
  3. / Consumer Discretionary

Market's Surprising to the Upside

And that's not what's supposed to be happening right now.
By JIM CRAMER Aug 21, 2012 | 07:25 AM EDT
Stocks quotes in this article: URBN, NDSN

Just when you think that there should be land mines, or questionable days you had marked on your calendar, you are getting pleasantly surprised.

Right now I had marked that we should be ready for a Greek default. It is hard to imagine, but during the discussions about the last Greek bailout the supposition was that Greece would fail to pay this week, which would cause Italian and Spanish bond yields to spike.

Where did that forecast get you? Yet, it is entirely possible that people kept out of the market or hid in Treasuries waiting for this day to pass.

Or Urban Outfitters (URBN). I figured blah. No more than blah. Turnaround. Worried still about why Glenn Senk left or was pushed. Just seemed like a weak retail story after years of expecting good things. What can I say? We got GREAT things with everything from direct to consumer to Free People doing well. Free People? Up 12%. The turn is not only complete, but URBN is becoming a leader once again, a three-headed leader that had previously lost its way.

One that I thought would have nothing but negative was Nordson (NDSN). Here's an American company with worldwide tech and industrial coatings businesses, just one of those companies that was supposed to miss, at least on sales and probably on earnings. It not only didn't miss, it reported superb earnings AND sales in both units, with Europe even coming in strong.

Now, naysayers could say look at that shortfall at Tech Data (TECD) and think about that tech supermarket having all sorts of problems. But the commentary was quite positive, including decent growth in Europe and while the company had no problems saying there was plenty of weakness, it did also say that currency and gross margin pressure -- not sales -- caused the shortfall.

Overall, you are simply getting surprised to the upside when you expect the downside and that's not what's supposed to be happening right now.

Don't worry, we will soon hear the litany: low vix, low volume and add in the horrible month of September -- isn't it always? -- and you will have enough to keep you out again.

Last night when I said good things about the market I went on Twitter -- big mistake -- and saw many "now he goes positive" and "Cramer's bullish, time to short."

Boy people can be morons. To bet against me has been to lose except for in 1998, at least in terms of relative performance in the market. I started managing money in 1979. Last I looked, that's a long streak.

But it reminds me, again, that people want out in the worst way and unless you are Peter Thiel dumping hundreds of millions of dollars in Facebook (FB) stock, you didn't get a great case to sell, at least coming into this morning.

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, has no positions in the stocks mentioned.

TAGS: Investing | U.S. Equity | Consumer Discretionary | Stocks |

More from Consumer Discretionary

There's No Clear Sailing Ahead for Carnival: Here's How to Play It

Stephen Guilfoyle
Jun 24, 2022 11:32 AM EDT

CCL did lose a lot of money, much more than anticipated, but there are positives.

Bearish Bets: 3 Well-Known Stocks You Should Consider Shorting This Week

Bob Lang
Jun 19, 2022 10:30 AM EDT

These recently downgraded names are displaying both quantitative and technical deterioration.

Beyond Meat Gives Investors Something to Chew On

Bruce Kamich
Jun 15, 2022 1:50 PM EDT

This veggie name is rallying sharply after a summer promotion announcement, but here's my beef with the charts.

Tapestry's 50% Correction Makes the Stock More Stylish

Bruce Kamich
Jun 15, 2022 10:16 AM EDT

Let's check the charts of TPR.

Will Apple Prove to Be Hardy Stock or Just Low-Hanging Fruit?

Bruce Kamich
Jun 13, 2022 12:29 PM EDT

A look at shares of the market and tech bellwether as the broader averages comes are under selling pressure.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 08:55 AM EDT JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    The 10 personality traits of successful traders an...
  • 12:08 PM EDT STEPHEN GUILFOYLE

    Stocks Under $10

    As a Portfolio Name Agrees to a Merger, Here's Our...
  • 10:44 AM EDT PAUL PRICE

    My Very Best Pick for the Next 12 Months

    American Woodmark . It rarely gets better than th...
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2022 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login