Thought I'd post this information. It looks like stocks are sliding all around the world. Some markets have lost more than 3% since Friday. You can check out the individual market returns here.
There is some speculation that this could be caused by a number of reasons including Japan's Nikei index falling nearly 3.8% on alleged fear of the US budget deficit getting out of control and the protests against Japan in China.
The Financial Times reports that this may be the result of lower-than-expected first quarter earnings in a lot of American companies. Car manufacturers and technology experienced the brunt of the fall.
This might be a good time to buy an index fund.
We'll have to see what effect today's trading has on the US markets.
2 comments:
Buy an index fund? It depends on if your intentions are long or short.
Long, it could be argued that you'll rarely do better than an index fund so yes - now is a good time. As is any time.
Short, however, I don't think so. All the indices are down pretty sharply. I don't know if I'd jump in until they showed signs of being able to sustain a rally.
Most people buy for the long run. If you buy an index fund now, and you know there will be an inevitable rise as the the market recovers.
I agree with you, though, that if you are looking for short-term gains, it might be best to wait for the turnaround. However, even if you buy now, you're still going to get a better price than had you bought at the apex of the price.
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