I'll try to explain this volatility. When stocks go down like this, it results in many margin calls to leveraged investors. The calls go out in the morning, forcing folks to sell to meet those calls. They have to be covered by noon. The vast majority of the selling today is because of this. Many hedge funds use leverage heavily and are getting crushed. Couple this with tax-loss selling, as tis the season for that, which feeds this downward spiral. Mutual fund managers are selling losers to avoid excessive distributions. This should end early soon and we should start to see some re-entry buyers. Remember that the turn-around happens when you least expect it, at the time of maximum pessimism.
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