This week has been one for the record books. Monday was the sixth largest point drop in Dow Jones history. Tuesday was the 10th largest point gain in its history. In percentage terms, both rank in the top 100 craziest days the market has ever seen.
These wild days hammer home two points. First, you can't time the market. Those who sought safety by selling during Monday's free fall missed one of the largest rebounds ever on Tuesday.
Second, huge daily movements often make little sense. American businesses did not lose 5% of their fundamental worth on Monday, only to become 4% more valuable on Tuesday. What changed is the price.
And as Warren Buffett says, "Price is what you pay. Value is what you get." Roller-coaster markets might be gut-wrenching, but they can be a gift for those looking for bargains. We have no idea how much further markets might fall. But we are convinced that the plunge over the past two weeks has created opportunities for long-term investors.
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