This Selloff Is Phony

The market's a little preposterous here. We've got that moment here where people are saying, "We could only get this kind of decline in a recession," I am not buying it at all. I think that the selling is overdone and seems like it is just technical, as in, "We opened up big, and that was a trap, so now we have to fade everything."

To me, this is the type of selloff that means nothing because what has happened in the wake of every one of these big oil declines is a multiday rally of the companies that do better when gasoline goes down.

Still, what's so odd is the vicious selling of stocks when they're already down so much. The selloff seems as artificial as that amazing rally we had in the oil stocks last week when Conoco (COP - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Occidental (OXY - commentary - Cramer's Take) were up huge. For example, who the heck sells National Oilwell Varco (NOV - commentary - Cramer's Take) down $6 knowing that the stock was at $76 -- 9 points higher -- just a few days ago? Who sells Anadarko (APC - commentary - Cramer's Take) near its 52-week low when it's buying back 18% of its stock back and is so flush with cash? Who sells Frontline (FRO - commentary - Cramer's Take) down $4.68 with that yield? Who decides to crush XTO (XTO - commentary - Cramer's Take) or Chesapeake (CHK - commentary - Cramer's Take) when nat gas might indeed be the fuel of the future?

Beats me.

But it sure seems irrational. I think the rally was real; the selloff is phony.

At the time of publication, Cramer was long National Oilwell Varco.

ALL JIM CRAMER BLOG ENTRIES | POST A COMMENT | READ COMMENTS  

---

Jim Cramer is a director and co-founder of TheStreet.com. He contributes daily market commentary for TheStreet.com's sites and serves as an adviser to the company's CEO. Outside contributing columnists for TheStreet.com and RealMoney.com, including Cramer, may, from time to time, write about stocks in which they have a position. In such cases, appropriate disclosure is made. To see his personal portfolio and find out what trades Cramer will make before he makes them, sign up for Action Alerts PLUS. Watch Cramer on "Mad Money" weeknights on CNBC. To order Cramer's newest book -- "Jim Cramer's Stay Mad for Life: Get Rich, Stay Rich (Make Your Kids Even Richer)," click here. Click here to order "Mad Money: Watch TV, Get Rich," click here to order "Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World," click here to get "You Got Screwed!" and click here for Cramer's autobiography, "Confessions of a Street Addict." While he cannot provide personalized investment advice or recommendations, he appreciates your feedback and invites you to send comments by clicking here.

TheStreet.com has a revenue-sharing relationship with Amazon.com under which it receives a portion of the revenue from Amazon.com purchases by customers directed there from TheStreet.com.