The market seems to be selling-off on the back of limited bad news imo, apart from the dollar that is.

If you can hold your nerve and apart from any short term requirements to offload poor performing stocks, I have a couple!!, my advice would be sit tight. This does not have the feel of the tech(mining!) bubble at all. Difference being there are a lot of good fundamentals, unlike in 2000 when there were a lot of over rated nothing companies.

This market does look as though long positions and stop losses are exagerating the sp movements; whether good news can reverse it in particular stocks is going to be interesting. There are a few with good news due out this week that will test that.

Shareshure,

I think that will certainly be a good test. Don't get me wrong. Some stocks will continue to do well, even if this does prove to be the start of a bear market. I know from last time though (the tech bubble), that many of my friends didn't react to the early falls, as they'd done so well out of the rise in their own stock picks. Most didn't start piling out until at least a month or so later. I put that down to the cummulative fear effect of more down days, and a change in press sentiment, from "a short term correction" to a "more sustained trend". Only time will tell if history repeats itself. Anyone investing for the long term, with a good company, will no doubt average out any dip, and finish ahead. Although I'm generally a long term investor, personal circumstances mean I prefer to sit on the "guaranteed cash" while the dust settles, rather than loose any of the profits I've made.

Strawbs.

Certainly hitting momentum investors a lot harder than long term investors like myself and otheres here. Some long termers will sell out and take profits, Im holding as Ive been through situations like this before and if it does turn out to be a Bear of course there will be a spike downwards in the chart but the longterm trend will be up. (if you hold strong decent stock)

Glad I didnt get sucked into the Commodity and Oil sectors, carnage going on at the moment. A lot of investors will be lost forever to the markets which isnt a good thing as we in this country in general dont invest or save as much as the likes of the US or Germans.

The markets these days seem to be dominated by gamblers with a TA chart guide and a cfd or SB account looking for a quick fix.

Dont really know the answer as to how to rectify this, does anyone?.

Can't believe some of the oiler's ,,were they really that overvalued ?? luckily i wasn't in much when this started ,i'm out now and staying out until we have some clear direction ,the problem may be when this ends ,we go sideways .

I suspect in the euphoria of rising prices, a number of stocks will have been overpriced. At the end of the day, it's only worth what somebody's willing to pay for it though. If the price looks like it will keep on rising (as many have since the start of the year), then people will happily keep paying more, regardless of whether any fundamentals have truely changed. Of course, that ultimately skews the value of a stock, and makes it harder to judge where true value lies. When momentum switches the other way, the reaction will be overdone in the opposite direction. We won't know which stocks are fairly valued until the dust settles, and the price chasers have been scared out of the market.

Strawbs.

Yes and by the look of it there may be some bargains to be had .
Dow sliding again .

The only thing is... you get into the bargains in this type of market and.. they fall as well !

There has been so much carnage on my portfolio that blood is beginning to leak out of my monitor! Happy to hold at current levels as I have made safe some profits and will re-invest when things appear to have settled. Lots of potential bargains exist based on fundamentals and near-term prospects, IMO.

That also worries me. I know people that have seen this correction (or whatever you want to call it), and are thinking of closing ISA's to get spare cash to buy "bargains". Great if you can pick the true bargains, but pretty suicidal if you can't. I think some people just get infected by the "can't loose" mentality, and forget the little "shares can go down" disclaimer on the tin.

Strawbs.

I agree Strawbs , i won't be looking until the dust settles ,i don't think anyone knows where this is going next.

Panic is a wonderful thing . . . (that's meant ironically, in case it's not coming across as such).

As I think I said last week, part of the game is good stockpicking and part of it is about anticipating the crowd. No prizes for guessing where we're at at the moment.

Ouch! What's happening now is downright cruel... look at VOG, HDD and a few others..there's no need for it.!

People still buying though......

Strawbs.

I'm still in VOG - cut my holding by 40% last week though! I shot HDD out of the door a month or two ago; it's another one whose SP could be headed for bargain territory.

Agreed that it's a bit brutal. Welcome to the FTSE white-knuckle ride :o)

If VOG makes you cry (me too!), have a look at what has happened to other good quality stocks such as POG and CSR

I doubt if it's over yet. I would be very very cautious of any rally later in the week. Looking at my old portfolio, I'd be thinking some of these stocks are bargains now, but if others have been trapped by the speed of the fall, they could be selling into any rally when it comes. I'm pretty sure the herd mentality is kicking in now, and it'll take some stability before anyone can be sure of the prices being offered.

Strawbs.

Strawbs, I agree, am more likely to wait through the summer (hope I remember this when impatience tries to get the better of me!).

Some of the purchases could just be short covering, or people who have plenty of spare fingers and like catching falling knives, juggling chainsaws, etc.

Cynic, not crying, (yet!) more like anticipating another bite at some very cheap cherries :o)

I was pretty sanguine first thing this morning even after seeing the opening prices ..... Now just bloody

Soul traders,

I know that impatient feeling. That's another thing I remember from the tech crash. The number of people who fell in love with there stocks and couldn't except the size of the falls, thinking it another buying oppertunity.

Strawbs.

Tempting as it may be take a position either long or short, best course of action has to be to do nothing ..... A&L was perhaps an interesting example today ..... Up by about 130 with the RNS (rather non-committal actually) and finishes up only 26.