Charts suggest a Santa Claus rally is still underway

CNBC’s Jim Cramer said Monday that there could be an opportunity to buy stocks ahead of a possible rally.

“The numbers, as interpreted by Larry Williams, suggest that Christmas is not going to be canceled for Wall Street – he thinks we still have a Santa Claus meeting coming up and the ideal time to buy is sometime around this Thursday,” he said.

Shares fell for a fourth straight trade on Monday, weighed down by growing recession fears.

Cramer said the market̵[ads1]7;s recent slump is the perfect setup for a Santa Claus rally, which describes US stocks’ tendency to rise towards the end of the year and the beginning of the new year. For Williams, it’s a matter of when, not if, the stock will run up, according to Cramer.

To explain Williams’ analysis, he examined the daily chart of S&P 500 futures from November 2021 to January 2022.

The blue line at the bottom is Williams’ seasonal forecast, suggesting the best buying opportunities will come in mid to late December, with the Santa rally tending to last through January 10. The chart shows that the shares rose from 20 December until the end of the year, in line with the forecast.

Cramer then compared these findings to the data shown in the daily chart of S&P futures from September of this year to now.

The chart suggests the market has just entered “seasonality,” Cramer said. He added that Thursday’s trading session would be the ideal moment to buy ahead of a potential rally, according to Williams.

“I know it’s hard to believe the market is ready to run, but that’s always the case with Larry’s calls. While it’s possible this year will be different, historically has been a really bad strategy,” he said.

For more analysis, see Cramer’s full explanation below.