A form of “dangerous information is sweet information” market

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Thursday he wasn’t surprised if the March job report was soft.

“Yesterday I suggested that the counter-trend rally in technology could last a few days before it subsided,” said the Mad Money host. “So far that’s that forecast, but without a cool headline tomorrow, I expect the reopened stocks – think banks and industry – to come back in style at the Wall Street fashion show.”

While the market will be closed on Good Friday, the Ministry of Labor is expected to release recruitment dates for March.

Cramer’s comments come after a banner day for the S&P 500, which topped the 4,000 level for the first time during the trading day.

Stocks rose after the Labor Department released a disappointing weekly number of unemployment claims that morning. The department reported that 719,000 workers filed first-time unemployment benefits last week, much higher than economists forecast.

“Welcome back to Bizarro Wall Street, where bad news is good news, at least when it comes to the economy,” said the host of Mad Money.

Investors who want stock prices higher will want to see strong earnings reports from last quarter and more non-inflationary news that will deter the Federal Reserve from hike rates, Cramer said.

Cramer announced his schedule for the coming week. The earnings per share forecasts are based on FactSet estimates:

Tuesday: Paychex reports

Paychex

• Q3 2021 Results to be published: before the market; Conference call: 9:30 a.m.
• Projected EPS: 92 cents
• Estimated Revenue: $ 1.11 billion

“I expect a decline no matter what the company has to say. It’s become a post-earnings pattern,” said Cramer. “There are a number of negative analysts who got it wrong to the very end. They will most likely stay wrong and give you the option to buy Paychex because of weakness, even if it is a great quarter.”

Thursday: Constellation Brands, Conagra Brands and Levi Strauss report

Constellation Brands

• Q4 2021 results to be published: before the market; Conference call: 11:30 a.m.
• Projected earnings per share: $ 1.55
• Estimated Revenue: $ 1.86 billion

“Constellation was hit by a negative research the other day that suggested the beer and liquor company, which is a fantastic breeder, could deliver an easy quarter thanks to the weakness in Texas,” said Cramer. “The devastation caused by Super Storm Uri … can actually hurt your revenues. Texas is a big market for you.”

Conagra brands

• Earnings release for the third quarter of 2021: 7:30 a.m. Conference call: 9:30 a.m.
• Projected EPS: 58 cents
• Estimated Revenue: $ 2.72 billion

“Like every other food company, I’m concerned that Conagra might mitigate its forecast over concerns about the grand reopening, but that was one of the standout traits in a fairly anemic group.”

Levi Strauss

• Earnings release for the first quarter of 2021: after market entry; Conference call: 5 p.m.
• Projected EPS: 24 cents
• Estimated Revenue: $ 1.25 billion

“I just wish Levi Strauss stock hadn’t done that much this quarter. We know PVH’s results went up tremendously, and then the stock got busted after a pretty good number. So why don’t we see how Levi behaves? in the result. “