Weak Downside Action Hints at a Floor

Of all the prices I see on my screen now, including the declining ones for Du Pont (DD - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Verizon (VZ - commentary - Cramer's Take), the most encouraging one is from Caterpillar (CAT - commentary - Cramer's Take). If you recall, CAT yesterday was called down 5 to $30 in premarket trading on the biggest guidedown I have seen in ages, a 50% guidedown.

But the stock ended up opening higher from there and stayed there. It's up from that level, albeit slightly, today. Some of that could be the dividend, as even with the dire forecast -- I think it's doable, though, if we get stimulus through -- the dividend should be able to be maintained. Some of it is the fact that the company does have some core earnings power even in this environment, particularly if energy gains strength and China puts money where its mouth is.

But what matters is that if this is the worst that this market can do to an industrial -- as opposed to a bank -- then we might have a floor, ex financials, developing.

I see Du Pont's down. Du Pont's bad. Dow's (DOW - commentary - Cramer's Take) worse. But, again, they are barely down.

There's some discounting of bad news going on here ahead of time, and that matters. You don't get a bottom until all the shelling is over. That's what Texas Instruments (TXN - commentary - Cramer's Take) is saying, as it was able, at last, to meet its greatly reduced earnings estimates.

Not a reason to buy.

Just not a reason to sell.

Random musings: Every Verizon quarter, the stock gets hit as the nitpickers come out in full force. I see cash flow up big, and I believe that after tomorrow, when the analysts all take their shot at it, you buy. ... Count American Express (AXP - commentary - Cramer's Take) among those companies where the market says, "Enough already. It's not worth selling."

At the time of publication, Cramer had no positions in the stocks mentioned.

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