Today, my stock portfolio is worth several thousand dollars less than it was yesterday. And I couldn't be more thrilled.
Why? Because, where others see carnage, I see opportunity. Many stocks I've long wanted to buy or add to have been mindlessly reduced to levels that are, for me, as pretty as a giant carnitas burrito smothered in chile sauce. (What can I say? I like Mexican food.)
And I really do mean mindless. Web performance tracker Keynote (NASDAQ:KEYN) just sent me an email that says performance at all of the major stock trading sites lagged during the day. No doubt that was caused by the same rush to sell that caused the Dow to fall 416 points, or 3.3%, and the S&P 500 to fall 50 points, or 3.5%, on the day.
Leading losers on the New York Stock Exchange included Ford (NYSE:F), down 5.8%, and General Electric (NYSE:GE), down nearly 2%. Meanwhile, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), down 3.5%, and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:SUNW), down 4.8%, led the Nasdaq decliners.
While I don't own shares in any of those firms, my portfolio ran as blood-red as anyone's. And still I love, love, love it, for this is exactly the opportunity billionaire Warren Buffett spoke of when he said, "Be greedy when others are fearful and be fearful when others are greedy."
Wall Street just retreated like a turtle into its shell. For me, that means it's time to buy. Do you have the guts to do the same?
Have a different take? Let me know.
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Fool contributor Tim Beyers literally jumped for joy when he tuned in to CNBC at Tuesday's market close. Tim didn't own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this article at the time of publication. The Motley Fool's disclosure policy is throwing a party for your portfolio.
