Cramer advises investors to sell stocks, says it's too soon to consider buying the September slide

Published Mon, Sep 20 20219:26 AM EDTUpdated Mon, Sep 20 202110:12 AM EDT

CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday the U.S. stock market is in a "sell-off period" that could last a couple more weeks, and he advised investors to act accordingly. "We've been telling people to sell. It's been uncomfortable to tell people to sell. I'm not stopping that. I would continue to think you sell," Cramer said Monday on "Squawk Box." The "Mad Money" host has been warning about the back half of September, starting last Friday, as historically the worst stretch of the seasonal weakness often seen in September and October. Cramer said he does not see a buy level for stocks yet as Dow futures were sinking more than 650 points, or nearly 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average then opened less than 600 points lower on Wall Street, and quickly cut those losses even further. A number of emerging investment risks led to the widespread selling, including the fears of a collapse of embattled Chinese property developer Evergrande Group , the fight in the U.S. over raising the debt ceiling , and questions surrounding this week's Federal Reserve meeting and hints on when central bankers might start tapering their bond purchases. "I do think we'll get to a buy point" for stocks such as Pfizer , which said Monday its Covid vaccine is safe for kids ages 5 to 11 , Cramer said. "But we're not there yet." The intersection of all these worrisome factors led investors to sell stocks and risk assets and buy bonds. The 10-year Treasury yield , which moves inversely to price, dropped Monday to around 1.32%. Bitcoin — which has seen some recent strength after a summer sell-off to below $30,000 — dropped 10% on Monday. The world's biggest cryptocurrency traded under $43,000 in early trading. It hit an all-time high over $64,000 in April. Cramer said he's not as worried as many people about the possible financial market contagion risk of an Evergrande bankruptcy because U.S. banks are not allowed to do business in China. "Our banks are the safest banks in the world" as a result, he added. "I think the problems in China has seemed to sneak up on people. But some of us have talked about this for weeks." From a nationalistic prospective, he said trouble for Chinese businesses are a "good thing, not a bad thing" for the U.S., as Washington battles Beijing for hearts and mind of the world economically and socially.

CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday the U.S. stock market is in a "sell-off period" that could last a couple more weeks, and he advised investors to act accordingly.