Stock Market Fears

Intro the stock market takes another big hit today.

Intro the stock market takes another big hit today.

The dow jones industrial average actually experienced its single biggest one day point drop in history.

This is the first time we are seeing this happen since 2008.

And that has some people re- thinking their investments..

Our stephanie poole spoke to two financial advisors, she joins us live in the studio with more.

That's right.

The presidential election,the oil industry price war, and coronavirus are all factors causing a swift change in the market.

But before you run and pull all your funds here's one tip--don't panic.

For the last couple of weeks investors have been on a roller coaster ride.

There have been some dizzying drops followed by quick rebounds..

But it isn't a joyride for many who are looking forward to their retirement funds.

" 401k a-lot of times is invested in the different mutual funds.

Inside of those mutual funds you have a- lot of different stock positions.

They go up and down based of those companies earnings and other factors."

Jason spears of jds wealth strategies says the uncertainty has sparked a lot of fear for some of his clients.

And he's not alone.

Rhonda ferguson from financial concepts is seeing the same trend.

" as far as investments go, we shouldn't do anything because of the short term headlines.

They should not be making changes to 401k or saving plans while the market is down."

So before you make changes to your investments here's what you should know.

" the market goes down about 20% once a year.

It averages 14% but it can be it can be up to 20%.

An 18% market high is kind of surprising because it hasn't happened quickly but that doesn't mean it's unheard of."

Ferguson and spears say global events, like oil price wars and the coronavirus scare are triggering this latest round of panic.

"saudi arabia has flooded the market with oil while other parts of the world haven't come to some agreements.

However, lower oil prices will be very good for consumers.

It's likely going to reduce interest rates again today which is be very good for consumers so those making short term investment decisions because of the panic today."

And once stocks sink below 7% , that trips a circuit breaker to stop trade.

"when you have a big drop in s&p 500 there's three different levels.

It shuts down, it stops trading for 15 minutes and then they'll resume after that 15 minute interval.

If it continues to go down the next level would be level 2 at 13% and then it would pause another 15 minutes of trading.

If it reopens and it continues to fall and fell all the way down to 20% of a decline then they would stop trading for the rest of the day."

Both the dow jones and the s&p 500 experienced their largest single day percentage drop since 2008.

Take vo