Nasdaq Correction, Oil Prices Jump Again, Anthropic's Early Legal Victory 3/27/26

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Market insight and analysis. You're listening to the opening bell of CNBC Squawk on the Street.

Sara Eisen (0:48)

Good Friday morning. Welcome to Squawk on the Street. I'm Sara Eisen with Jim Cramer at post nine of the New York Stock Exchange. David's on assignment. Carl has the morning off. Taking a look at futures after an ugly day yesterday. We're watching futures drop again. Dow futures down 215 NASDAQ, which is now technically in correction, 10% off the highs. Done another 200 points in the pre-market. Our roadmap begins with President Trump extending the pause on attacking Iran's energy facilities to April 6th as the war approaches the one-month mark this weekend. Plus the Senate advancing a bill to fund most of the DHS and a move to end the partial government shutdown that has impacted airports across the country. And Anthropic winning a preliminary injunction in its fight against the DOD, as the judge cites First Amendment retaliation. We'll begin, though, with stocks on track to extend yesterday's losses, including the NASDAQ I mentioned already in correction territory, Jim. So adding it all up for the week, NASDAQ down a little more than 1%, 1.3 on the NASDAQ 100 It hasn't felt pleasant for the bulls.

Jim Cramer (1:50)

Yeah, I thought yesterday the reaction to the president's pause announcement was very simple. Basically saying, I felt it said there really was no discussion that Iran did not ask for this delay, and it gives the president more time, because we found out in the journal soon after, to bring in 10,000 more soldiers, perhaps, I don't know, maybe for fighting, maybe to be able to get the uranium out. We don't have a story.

Sara Eisen (2:16)

Maybe to negotiate.

Jim Cramer (2:17)

Maybe negotiate. But I'll tell you one thing, Sara. The market sure didn't. If the president wanted the market to rally...

Sara Eisen (2:23)

It didn't happen.

Jim Cramer (2:24)

It didn't happen.

Sara Eisen (2:24)

Yeah. I mean, it's a little surprising, given the pattern. The pattern has been, when he's paused and given the opportunity for diplomacy, things have calmed down in the markets. I mean, you did have, you know, the Israeli Defense Minister, Katz, saying that they are escalating their attacks on Iran because they're getting, you know, these cluster missiles.

Jim Cramer (2:42)

But oil is, you know, remember, I'm sorry to interrupt, oil. Oil, if there really is a delay and there's hope for peace, oil should be leading us down. The oil stocks were up again yesterday. Oil was up. Oil didn't react negatively to the president's statement. I was surprised, Sara, really, that I thought the president's statement was basically, look, those were, you know, when you're a trader, you've been positioning negative for what's going to happen this weekend.

And didn't you feel like that you had to at least do some buying today? But they're not materialized.

Sara Eisen (3:16)

Right, I mean, the president definitely, I mean, yesterday, first of all, it started during his cabinet meeting when he was talking and he said, they're begging us for negotiations. Contrary to what they're saying or what the media is saying, they want to talk. So, and he said it a number of times in different ways. We also heard that from Special Envoy Steve Wittkopf. And then the extension of the pause, which would lead you to think that there are more negotiations or at least scope for negotiations. But it feels like the bar is higher now.

Jim Cramer (3:45)

Yes, that's a good way to put it.

Sara Eisen (3:46)

Although I will say, you know, 104, 5 Brent crude oil, and yes, it spiked yesterday, had a big spike, and it's up again today. I mean, it could be a lot worse given this is the worst supply disruption we've ever faced, right?

Jim Cramer (3:57)

Right, and it could be a lot worse given the fact that if you're bringing still one more 10,000 soldiers, you have to believe that you don't bring them over to do nothing. You kind of hope for a, frankly, you hope for a Gulf War I scenario where it's very clear that the allies are strong and Iraq basically, well, I can't say that it collapsed because we had to go in again, but what you don't want is Gulf War II. We don't want to come, we don't want to run Tehran.