What you should do

Article Excerpt

Stock prices have dropped sharply in anticipation of a much wider spread of the coronavirus, and a deep economic setback that could result from that spread. In a sudden and deep stock-market drop like this, it’s all too easy to respond impulsively or go to extremes. You may feel a temptation to sell all your stocks or ETFs and “wait for things to settle down” before going back in the market. Or you may feel an urge to “average down”: buy more of your biggest losers. That way you lower their average cost, even if you have to borrow. The market drop could be an omen of a deeper decline. That fall could happen—no one can predict the future. However, most sharp market downturns are temporary. Due to modern medicine and technology, the coronavirus impact is unlikely to get so big that it brings on a long-lasting stock-market decline. Our advice is that if your stock and ETF holdings made sense for you…