When the Federal Reserve does not waver on its two slated interest rate hikes and the market holds its breath ahead of Friday's jobs report, Jim Cramer said it sets off a series of events that investors need to understand.
"It all does start with commodities, which were weak across the board. Copper's teetering, aluminum's headed down, iron's– oh, man, get out of the way, and of course, oil's simply crashing, down 5 percent today, the worst day in months" the "Mad Money" host said.
All of these changes signal a rotation into stocks that people consider safe during a market decline, like consumer packaged goods, Cramer said.
At the same time, rates and bank stocks are climbing thanks to the Fed standing firm on its two-hike agenda, so the "Mad Money" host turned to the latest market moves to make sense of the noise.
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"The deflation trade resurfaced, which means money flows back to the insurers like AIG, MetLife, and Allstate will always do," Cramer said. "The biotechs always surge at this time, and this time was led by Regeneron."
The stock of Incyte, another biotech, climbed higher even after reporting what Cramer called "a miserable quarter." Medical device stocks roared.
Consumer products stocks like Clorox, PepsiCo, and Kellogg also rallied after reporting earnings, though Cramer noted that Kellogg's was nothing to write home about.
Alcoholic beverage giant Anheuser-Busch InBev delivered an earnings beat on Thursday, showing big numbers for its Stella Artois and Corona beers, something that Cramer said plays right to Constellation Brands' profits because it owns the U.S. rights to Corona.
The FAANG stocks were controversial, with Facebook's earnings getting a bearish market reaction and Apple's iPhone sales causing a commotion, but Netflix and Alphabet continued to run.
All in all, Cramer explained that when oil prices get hammered, there are algorithms in place driving investments into the recession stocks, and stopping those mechanisms is about as easy as teaching an old dog new tricks.
"Don't get too comfortable with this rotation, though, because tomorrow we get that non-farm payroll number from the Labor Department. It's going to wipe today's slate clean and give you a new one to draw on," he said. "So, while you might've expected the market to rally on the successful health care vote in the House, the riptide of oil and worries about payrolls put a lid on what could've been a raucously positive session."
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