Of Watches And The Stock Market
September is an exciting month not only for watch
enthusiasts but also the watch industry as a whole. Most of the new models that
were showcased during the SIHH and Basel shows should be ready for delivery by
now and those who have placed orders or are on the waiting list are eagerly anticipating
the arrival of their new toys.
On the stock market front, this is also the last quarter
where fund managers have to outperform the market and hope to close on a high
note for the year. Markets tend to be jittery during this period. Remember the
Oct’87 crash? Although that happened 26 years ago, traders usually experience
some sort of anxiety when October comes around. This explains why generally
October is a down month.
So what’s the difference this year? Due to Ben Bernanke’s hint
of the FED’s plans to reduce bond buying in September this year, traders are
anticipating that the FED’s actions of tapering their easy monetary policies
after years of ultralow interest rates will cause the stock market to crash
neither in September or October. As a result, we can already see that the bond
yields are spiking up. Since the stock market is a leading indicator, markets
have already fallen across the board since June. As the months lead up to
October, it is not surprising that the September sell down should just as
aggressive. Let’s see what is the direction of the market after the FOMC meeting on 17th
September. More downside?
As an investor or more so a specuvestor (one who speculates,
got stuck and became an investor) I am also drawn into this excitement. Unlike
watches, which I buy to enjoy and almost never sell, the same cannot be said of
my portfolio of shares. However, with so much market volatility these days, it
pays to watch my portfolio closely and start taking money off the table. Remember,
if you get married to a stock, you may carry the baby :)
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