Sell-Off Deepens, China Retaliates Against the U.S. With Tariffs, Labor Sec. on Jobs Report 4/4/25

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Trading at Schwab is now powered by Ameritrade. Unlocking the power of Think or Swim, the award-winning trading platforms loaded with features that let you dive deeper into the market. Visualize your trades in a new light on Think or Swim desktop with robust charting and analysis tools. All while you uncover new opportunities with up-to-the-minute market news and insights. Think or Swim is available on desktop, web and mobile to meet you where you are. It's built by the trading obsessed to help you trade brilliantly. Learn more at schwab.com/trading.

Ryan Reynolds (0:31)

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com/switch.

SPEAKER_3 (0:50)

Upfront payment of $45 for three-month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com.

SPEAKER_4 (1:02)

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

Carl Quintanilla (1:08)

Good Friday morning. Welcome to Squawk on the Street. I'm Carl Quintanilla with Jim Cramer at Post 9 of the New York Stock Exchange. David Faber is the morning off. That's stronger than expected jobs number not doing much to alleviate more selling. S&P futures down about two and a half percent. NASDAQ 100 futures have been in a bear market this morning.

10 year gets to 3.9. Oil hit 61 and change on this growth shock. We'll talk to the labor secretary in a little bit about the jobs number coming up. Let's begin though with China retaliating, slapping this 34% levy on US goods, Jim, and raising questions as to whether or not we're now in a tit for tat environment.

Jim Cramer (1:41)

Well, I think we are in a tit for tat environment. I think that when you look at what they are gonna bang us first, it's going to be ag. We won't feel that much in the president and congress will give them checks because that's what we do as a country and we've done since 1933 I do think away from that, there will be technology. Already, they're starting some investigations that are bad and...

Carl Quintanilla (2:03)

DuPont's in the firing line today.

Jim Cramer (2:04)

DuPont, my travel trust owns, and this is an instance where I think that our country is destroying DuPont, or at least a big part of it, it's 18% of it, and there's no reason for it whatsoever. We didn't have to do this. But we can go further deep into how poorly we've handled this situation and I'm happy to do that. And I think that it's very disappointing. For us who are in favor of fair trade and tariffs, we're still struggling with what exactly they were doing for a position that I've long since held that could have been great. The botching of it is quite extraordinary.

Carl Quintanilla (2:35)

Your social media post this morning do suggest that you are worried about execution. You tweeted a picture of a dumpster fire this morning.

Jim Cramer (2:44)

Well, I thought that was right, inappropriate.

Okay, so on Wednesday, October 14th, I don't know if I have to mention the year, Dow was down 3.8 percent. On Thursday, October 15th, the Dow was 2.38 percent. On Friday, October 16th, the Dow fell 4.6 percent. On Monday, the Dow fell 22.6 percent. That's where we are unless the president changes course. That's called Black Monday. That's called 1987 I think that that's a very good analogy. The other ones would be April 2000 and then maybe March of 2020 Those are the good ones. The good ones are April 20th. I was hoping for a good one, but the best I can come up with is April 2020, where there was, on March 2020, where we had, that was, of course, one of the worst declines. But then the April 2000 and the big switch out of tech and into Bristol Myers, Coca-Cola, that works too. Not initially, but that one works.

Carl Quintanilla (3:40)

Are you suggesting, because this will get written up, I don't care, that we are approaching the risk of a true market crash? We don't use that word on this.

Jim Cramer (3:47)

Well, I'm just saying that if you bought them fish Thursday and if you bought them fish Friday in 1987, you slept with the fishes on Monday.

Carl Quintanilla (3:57)

You did suggest this morning that maybe the selling in apples, a good example, was getting a little too aggressive.