With the markets tumbling amid Coronavirus fears, and with the federal government’s management of the epidemic ranging somewhere between abysmal and terrible, in my opinion, it’s worth assessing whether or not this bear market presents a buying opportunity.

In my opinion — not yet.

I’ve made my usual mistake of chasing some stocks down as the market tumbles. (I added small amounts to my holdings of Intel and Clearway Energy recently, only to watch the share prices continue to fall. Now I’m ready to wait a while before jumping in again.)

The sheer volatility in the markets is mind boggling. Watching the Dow fall 2000 points and then bounce back by more than 1000 points is making me dizzy. But volatility doesn’t instill confidence, and likely portends more selling in the near term than buying.

So I urge discipline (especially for myself, prone to trigger happy buying sprees whenever the market dips). Corrections are historically a good time to buy shares in quality companies. But I’m thinking the best names in the market — Microsoft, for instance — may be more attractively priced a few months from now than they are today.

 

• Uncategorized