Cramer says Friday’s rally was ‘phony’ as stocks open lower

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday that the rally by stocks on Friday was artificial and that stocks would open lower as investors and analysts took the opportunity to back off. 

“Friday’s market was a phony market, okay?” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” “There was 300 points added in the last few minutes. And I think a lot of the analysts are saying, ‘I’ve got my chance to downgrade Disney.'”

The Dow rose 705 points, or 2.99%, on Friday, with much of that gain coming in a rally in the final hour of trading. The S&P 500 finished 2.68% higher after the market opened with a sizable gain after a Stat News report that Gilead‘s remdesivir was showing early signs of being effective in treating the coronavirus. 

Disney, which rose more than 4% on Friday, was downgraded to neutral by Credit Suisse and UBS on Monday morning. 

“Those futures guys, whoever’s buying stocks up … they gave everyone a chance to get out,” Cramer said.

Stocks opened the week lower, with the Dow dropping 480 points, or 2%, in early trading.