Here's Jim Cramer's advice for navigating the markets during the Iran conflict

CNBC Finance

4 min read

Jim Cramer's advice for investors navigating fallout from the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran: Be selective. With stocks initially selling off (but way off their lows in late morning trading; stay tuned) and oil spiking on supply-disruption fears, Jim sees moves to make on the first Wall Street trading day since the conflict began. But, at this point, the Middle East conflagration does not require a full-scale rethinking of the portfolio, or anything close to it. .SPX @CL.1 5D mountain S & P 500 and WTI over the past 5 sessions For example, it does not derail the long-term story around artificial intelligence adoption â so much so that, during the Morning Meeting on Monday, Jim said investors who don't own any Nvidia can start building a position here. Where else are there opportunities to put money to work? Jim recommends looking at an industry that's insulated from any economic fallout. "When I go over what I want to buy here, I come back and I say health care because health care won't get hurt," Jim said Monday on CNBC. We did exactly that on Monday morning, initiating a position in Cardinal Health , an important behind-the-scenes player in the health care industry that distributes pharmaceuticals and medical supplies. Cardinal Health also has some exciting growth initiatives, including a string of acquisitions of management service organizations, which are companies that handle the business operations for doctors and clinicians. During our Monthly Meeting on Friday, we added Cardinal Health to our Bullpen watchlist. On the other hand, Jim believes the market reaction is creating opportunities to lighten up in certain areas â most notably, oil. That had been a strong group of stocks in 2026, even before additional gains Monday on the back of spikes in crude prices. The energy sector ended Friday up 25% year to date, benefiting in part from a rotation into companies with "heavy assets" and an increase in oil prices as investors priced in elevated tensions in the Middle East. "It's a great time to sell," Jim said Monday, recommending cutting any oil position by about half. The Club does not own any oil stocks and hasn't since exiting Coterra Energy last summer. That advice expands on his Sunday night column for Club subscribers. Here is what Jim wrote Sunday about oil: "The world is awash in oil, and there will be more produced by those who have extra to take advantage of the moment of supply disruption. It will be awkward, and it will feel terrible to sell Exxon Mobil here. I get that. But those are the stocks that are most inflated versus their fundamentals. Anyone who remembers the Gulf War in 1990 knows these are the ones that rollover first after the initial spike that gives you a chance to sell. Oil will come to the market. The quick spike is a lucky moment to say goodbye for those who had the foresight to own these stocks." On Sunday night, Jim also mentioned looking to lighten exposure on consumer staples, a sector that has also been a big 2026 winner prior to Monday's session. Club name Procter & Gamble , a member of the staples cohort, is typically seen as a classic safety stock. But it was down about 1.5% on Monday, perhaps a reflection that a spike in oil prices could squeeze consumers at the pump and limit their spending in other parts of life. As of late morning Monday, we have not taken any action on our P & G position, which has been a nice bulwark for our portfolio since we bought it in November. Plus, we're optimistic that new CEO Shailesh Jejurikar can deliver operational improvements at the Tide and Bounty owner. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long NVDA, CAH, and PG. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

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Here's Jim Cramer's advice for navigating the markets during the Iran conflict

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