Stock Market Impacted by Rising Oil Prices and Inflation
On Wednesday, the stock market took a hit from soaring oil prices and concerning inflation data, leaving investors feeling uneasy. Still, Jim Cramer from CNBC believes there’s potential for certain stocks to thrive.
“If I didn’t own it, I would buy the stock,” Cramer stated about Nvidia, pointing out that the company’s performance isn’t directly affected by geopolitical tensions or fears of stagflation. He mentioned that Nvidia’s prominence in the market has led to it being overowned.
Despite a lack of movement in Nvidia’s stock price over the last eight months—despite positive developments and strong earnings—Cramer thinks that if the plans announced during this week’s GTC developer event materialize, including new chips and a projected $1 trillion order from Blackwell and Vera Rubin by 2027, the situation could improve significantly.
Cramer recently attended a conference in California where he talked with a bullish Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, about these announcements. Huang even suggested that OpenClaw, an AI agent maker, could be the next ChatGPT.
According to Cramer, stocks like Nvidia appear “inevitably too cheap” when looking at future price-to-earnings ratios. While he encourages some stock purchases, he cautioned against going too heavy, given broader market uncertainties. Analysts from Cantor Fitzgerald anticipate Nvidia’s earnings to reach $15 a share by 2027, which would imply a valuation of about 12 times those projected earnings. For reference, the S&P 500 trades at around 18 times earnings.
Looking at the market as a whole, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a low for 2026, down more than 750 points—or 1.6%—due to inflation concerns linked to high oil prices and recent wholesale inflation reports from February, prior to military actions involving Iran. The first rise in oil prices was noted beginning on March 2nd. The S&P 500 dipped 1.36%, while the Nasdaq fell by 1.46%.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks later in the day didn’t ease fears. He acknowledged that inflation hasn’t decreased as much as expected, although he quelled worries about stagflation by noting that current unemployment rates are nowhere near the high levels associated with the troubling economy of the 1970s, which was marked by rampant job losses and inflation.
Yet, Cramer admitted that the current environment makes it tough to find promising stocks. He returned to Nvidia, describing it as “one of the fastest growing companies at one of the lowest valuations.” He found this combination particularly appealing.
However, Cramer noted that external pressures, like rising oil prices and potential interest rate challenges from new Fed leadership, could weigh on Nvidia’s stock in the near term.
