Cramer Quick Take: Don't Buy Into the Fiscal Cliff Deal

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) --With the fiscal cliff adverted, at least for now, and the markets rallying on the news, should investors be joining the party? Jim Cramer told Lindsey Bell at TheStreet.com Monday that he is not buying into the rally.

Cramer said the important takeaways from the latest budget deal are that, first, capital gains and dividend taxes will remain at reasonable levels, and, second, the markets now have at least a little certainty going forward.

That said, Cramer noted earnings may be somewhat disappointing this quarter, and as a general rule he's never a buyer into 2% or 3% market rally.

Instead, Cramer said he's using the market's recent strength to tidy up his charitable trust, Action Alerts PLUS, and is selling losers so he can be ready for what comes next. He told investors not to obsess over the pending debt ceiling debate in Washington as that deal will also likely be as unexciting as this one.

As for the defense stocks, which were feared to be hit hard by the fiscal cliff, Cramer said stocks such as Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Boeing (BA) have been good because they're international stories as well as domestic players.

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-- Written by Scott Rutt in Washington.

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At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had no positions in the stocks mentioned.

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