The six things needed to stabilize the market didn’t happen

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Friday that the market’s six-item checklist for stabilization was nowhere near complete this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posted their worst week of 2023 so far. According to Cramer, the market has not yet bottomed out.

Interest rates went in the wrong direction this week, rising instead of stabilizing. Expensive stocks jumped rather than fell. Meanwhile, recession-resistant stocks haven’t seen the rally they need.

One item pulled off the checklist: Banks have outperformed. If banks maintain their stability, Kramer said, they will be valuable by leading the market while living with higher rates.

As for the fifth item, Wall Street over-popularized the retail market, Cramer said, rather than separating the winners. Wal-Mart shares felt the pain of the broader retail industry, even though the company posted a strong holiday quarter.

Cramer advised investors to watch retail earnings next week and see if Wall Street differentiates between winners and losers.

Finally, Cramer said that he will not announce the sale is over until the market is oversold. He did not see this result in the S&P oscillator, which has historically been correct in calling market bottoms.

Cramer will delve into his checklist at the CNBC Investing Club meeting in New York on Saturday.

Until those boxes are checked out, Cramer said, “You’ve got to keep your head down. This isn’t the moment to just heroically get over it and try to buy something.”