Treasury's Expanded Buyback Signals Market's Desperate Bid to Extend Equity Rally, Says Cramer

Deep News
08/20

Jim Cramer said Wednesday that while the Treasury's expanded bond buyback may temporarily ease market pressure, this unconventional intervention highlights the strain already present in the bond market.

Speaking on "Squawk on the Street," Cramer remarked, "I believe the market is trying everything it can to sustain this equity rally, though some would argue the methods being deployed right now aren't exactly sophisticated."

The U.S. Treasury announced Wednesday it will more than double the maximum size of its long-duration bond repurchase operations, raising the cap from $2 billion to at least $4 billion. The move comes after a sharp surge in Treasury yields, which move inversely to bond prices. On Tuesday, the 30-year Treasury yield spiked to 5.33%, hitting a multi-year high. Following the Treasury's announcement, yields pulled back and stocks moved higher.

"This is essentially a put option, clearly designed to support the market," Cramer said, using options terminology to describe the action. This option-like tool serves to protect investors against downside risk. In the past, Cramer and other market observers have referred to the Trump administration's equity-friendly policies as the "Trump put."

In Wednesday's announcement, the Treasury targeted its buyback program at the 10- to 20-year and 20- to 30-year sectors where demand has weakened. The program does not reduce the government's total debt load; instead, it aims to improve market liquidity by repurchasing outstanding bonds.

Cramer attributes the surge in long-term Treasury yields to multiple factors: investors demanding higher compensation for holding long-dated bonds, shifts in the buyer base for Treasuries, and massive corporate debt issuance driven by the AI buildout boom. Heavy corporate bond issuance competes with Treasuries for market capital, adding further upward pressure on yields.

Google parent company Alphabet announced Tuesday it raised $39 billion through its first-ever Australian dollar bond issuance; the company had already unveiled plans in June to raise $80 billion via a stock placement to fund its AI expansion.

Cramer remains cautious, noting that while the Treasury's bond repurchases can ease upward pressure on yields, they cannot eliminate inflation concerns — with the Iran conflict driving oil prices higher being the root cause of rising yields.

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