Wall Street posted its strongest session in six weeks on Sept. 17, 2026, and Jim Cramer quickly turned the rally into a warning about what lies ahead. The Federal Reserve had just raised its benchmark to a range of 3.75% to 4%, its first increase since July 2023.
Equities had dropped in seven of the eight sessions leading up to the Sept. 16, 2026, meeting, then reversed course once the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) unanimous decision was made public.
Cramer had already told CNBC on Sept. 11, 2026, that 2026 closely mirrors the fall of 2018, a period when equities declined.
The S&P 500 fell roughly 20% between its September 2018 peak and Christmas Eve, driven lower by rising rates and climbing oil prices.
He reinforced that message on Sept. 16, 2026, on CNBC's "Mad Money," telling viewers, "If you buy stocks here, you're now officially fighting the Federal Reserve."
Why Cramer calls every Fed meeting a "big bad event"
Cramer described each FOMC meeting as a scheduled catalyst that builds enough uncertainty for traders to sell well in advance, according to CNBC.
Stocks tend to recover once the decision lands and the uncertainty lifts, a pattern he traced back decades through...