CNBC's Jim Cramer explained to investors how to identify "garden-variety" market pullbacks and even find buying opportunities in these declines.
"There are all sorts of sell-offs, but unless they involve systemic risk — which is increasingly rare, like in 2007, 2009 — they're going to prove to be buying opportunities long term," Cramer said. "You just need to recognize what's driving the decline, note the signs that it might be subsiding and then take action to buy, not sell, and never to panic."
Cramer first described "margin-induced breakdowns" that can occur when money managers borrow more cash than they should and then when the market goes down, they don't have enough money to meet margin clerks' demands so they have to start selling. He said investors may be able to take advantage of these declines by purchasing safety stocks such as those in the health-care sector.
Sell-offs from overseas can also create buying opportunities, Cramer said, but warned investors not to start buying hand over fist and to wait to see if there will be a bottom. Cramer also discussed initial public offering-related declines, explaining that if bankers start rolling out many new IPOs and companies sell more shares through secondary offerings, investors could end up in a situation where there's too much supply and not enough demand.
"My suggestion? Avoid the blast zone, the area where most of the new IPOs are concentrated, and focus on the stocks that're down due to collateral damage, especially ones with yield protection," he said.
Politics can also play a role in market declines, Cramer said. He advised investors to look for companies that have "nothing to do with the political fray," even if their stocks might be brought down by it. To Cramer, politics may be a reason to sell some stocks, but rarely are they a reason to sell everything.
Finally, Cramer pointed to earnings-induced pullbacks. If investors want to buy stocks during this kind of decline, he recommended isolating sectors where shortfalls are occurring and avoiding them.
"There's no reason stick your neck out here," he said. "Instead, buy unrelated stocks that've been hit by the much broader selling via the S&P 500 futures."
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