FAANG emerges as the latest group to lead the market, Jim Cramer says

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said the most dominant names in technology emerged as the latest stock group to lead the market higher in Wednesday’s session.

“These Big Tech stocks led us higher,” the “Mad Money” host said after the major averages staged a strong rally.

“This market’s been going through leadership groups like there’s no tomorrow.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average accelerated 369 points, or 1.52{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, to a 24,575.90 close, and the S&P 500 moved 1.67{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} to 2,971.61. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bested both indexes, rising 2.08{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} to close at 9,375.78.

The market has cycled through surges in the consumer staples, health care, essential big-box retailers and semiconductors during different periods as the country battled through the coronavirus crisis.

“And now it’s FAANG’s turn,” Cramer said, referring to his acronym for the group of Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google parent Alphabet stock.

Shares of Amazon and Facebook set new highs. Facebook popped more than 6{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} to close at $229.97, its first record close since late January. Amazon jumped almost 2{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} to $2,497.94, topping its record close at the end of April.

Facebook surged one day after the social media giant announced Facebook Shops, an online shopping feature that will work on the Facebook and Instagram platforms. Morgan Stanley analysts suggested the program, which could amount to a multibillion-dollar venture, could help the company compete with Amazon and Google.

“I think this is the future of small business: lots of sole proprietors making things work over the web … and apparently Facebook agrees,” Cramer said. “And while I’ve been lukewarm on some of Facebook’s actions over the years, this one I think can really make a positive difference in a time of painful unemployment and sputtering small- and medium-sized businesses.”

Cramer noted that major retailers such as Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s reported “fantastic e-commerce numbers” in their quarterly reports, but said that Amazon remains “king of e-commerce” and is buoyed by the fast-growing Amazon Web Services cloud business.

Alphabet shares ran 2.54{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, and Apple moved 1.94{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} higher. Netflix was the only one of the FAANG group to take a hit during the session. Shares in the streaming giant dropped 0.75{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}, its third decline in as many trading days.

Microsoft, one of Cramer’s alternatives for the group, rallied 1.38{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} during the session. The stock has strung together 10 positive sessions in the last 13 trading days. Cramer called it a “red-hot” stock.

“Microsoft’s working its way relentlessly higher. Some of it’s momentum, although some of it might be their cloud and gaming divisions,” he said.

Disclaimer

Disclosure: Cramer’s charitable trust owns shares of Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.