The stock market's recovery from two days of losses might be sustainable if biotechnology firm Gilead Sciences can continue to bounce back, Jim Cramer suggested Tuesday on CNBC.
"Gilead led us down on the Nasdaq. I mean, honestly. Gilead was the precipitant event, so if Gilead comes back then I am more sanguine," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street."
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Gilead's stock had struggled lately. The stock went from roughly $75 a share on Friday to around $69 intraday Monday. The shares gained more than 2.5 percent in early trading Tuesday. (Click here to get the latest quotes for Gilead.)
If Gilead is able to stabilize, it would signal the Nasdaq could push higher, along with the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 index.
"I just have to tell you these S&P names are really good. I don't want a 2000 scenario where the S&P does well and the Nasdaq does poorly," Cramer said, referring to the technology bubble of 2000, in which the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell while the rest of the market recovered.
For a read on the Nasdaq, Cramer recommended watching Google, SolarCity and Tesla Motors.
Cramer made clear he's not making a judgement as to whether these stocks would stabilize, though.
"I'm in watch mode," he said.
—By CNBC's Drew Sandholm. Follow him on Twitter @DrewSandholm.