Coronavirus sends stocks plunging; NJ analyst says don’t freak out

Continued fears of the novel coronavirus's impact on the world economy slammed the stock market on Monday, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1,032 points.

The S&P 500 skidded 112 points. The Nasdaq dropped 355 points, its biggest loss since December 2018. Crude oil prices also dropped sharply.

Ken Kamen, president of Mercer County-based Mercadien Asset Management, says fear is key here, "but I would caution people (not ) to get too excited at the moment, because we don't really know the long- term causes of this disease."

"We hope that it's not going to be anything really major," Kamen said. "But at the moment, it's starting to spread and it's serious. We have to certainly look at that."

The drop was the worst for the Dow in two years, and wiped out gains for 2020.

"I think it's logical to think that the market probably has further to sell off here," Kamen said, "We have to keep in mind that we're just giving back, at the moment, gains that we've gained since the beginning of the year."

And those gains have been significant, he said, so "to give some back is probably not a bad thing. I might even say that it's probably a good escape valve for the market valuation here. But I think that investors have to prepare for things to be a little bit lower."

Kamen said if you're afraid of stocks right now, be cautious about bond prices getting exaggerated on the high side and reducing yields, "so maybe putting it in a bank if you're scared might be the way to go --  if you think the best way to 'double your money' is to fold it in half and put it in your pocket."

Joe Cutter is the afternoon news anchor on New Jersey 101.5.

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