The spread of the coronavirus is spooking investors, and the result has been some significant drops this week.
By the time the markets closed on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down more than 1,900 points, 6.59 percent over two days, after news reports that the health scare was widening around the world — the worst two-day percentage loss in two years.
Other benchmarks — the S&P 500 and Nasdaq — also plunged amid the coronavirus-fueled volatility.
But the dives are more about people’s fears than the facts, according to certified financial planners (CFPs) and certified public accountants (CPAs) I polled. The one thing they all recommended: Don’t panic and jump completely out of the stock market — even if you’re retired.
Steven Podnos is a fee-only investment adviser based in Florida who also happens to be a critical care doctor in the Air Force Reserve.
“As a physician, the coronavirus looks no more virulent than influenza, so the impact is likely to be temporary and of little long-term concern,” he told me.
