Ignore Sharp Moves

In general, my experience is that sharp moves up or down over a day or a few days proceed from investors that are reacting, not thinking.? Those moves tend to get erased by future market action.

Slower, intermediate-term moves tend to persist, and those moves don’t get the same media attention, because they aren’t dramatic.? Bear market rallies are sharp, so are Bull market panics.

That’s why I don’t make too much out of days like yesterday.? A news-driven market is over-reactive.? Days where there is no no significant news gives us a feel for how the large players are adjusting their exposure; the same is true of looking at the trend over 6-12 months, where the effect of short-term news gets washed out.

So be wary, skeptical, etc., and keep some cash on hand to buy up future bargains.

7 thoughts on “Ignore Sharp Moves

    1. Yep. Totally agreed with David as these are just fluctuation and should be ignore in term of investment.

  1. So is this still part of a short term move to ignore? I’m not trying to score points or make snide remarks. I know one cannot predict monetary announcements and sudden reactions and I don’t expect you to have a crystal ball.

    Obviously markets react, and sometimes over-react, both to the upside and down. But where are we, and how do you know where we are going? Is it just a matter of working with a range of various potential outcomes of varying probability?

    If you are an investor, it seems like you should be ignoring market “moves” generally. That is, buy (some) if conditions are promising, sell (some) when the likely outcomes are skewed toward the downside. Trying to guess, jump on or bail out of market moves falls within the domain of the trader, no? Market moves affect investing insofar as price changes can make the risk/reward scenario more or less favorable.

    According to Mr. Buffet, you should always have some cash on hand for potential, unexpected bargains.

    All that said, is there anything about Wednesday’s developments that has changed your mind (about what to buy or sell or relative future outlook)?

    1. No, the sharp moves don’t change my mind. A little higher, and I will start raising cash.

      Real bull and bear markets have duration — they humiliate you through persistence. This is panic buying driven by central banks offering liquidity. So far, those additional offers of liquidity rarely lead to persistent rallies or a stronger economy.

      So no, I think we will revisit levels seen last Friday. No idea when — and remember, these are markets, designed to make fools out of the best of us. If I am made a fool, so be it; it will happen with me following overly orthodox policies, most likely.

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