August 2015 Stock Market Drop

[WNYresident]

Meltdown on Wall Street: Stocks Plunge Amid Global Tumult

As of 9:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 949 points, or 5.66% to 15575. The S&P 500 dropped 73 points, or 3.95% to 1893, while the Nasdaq plunged 405 points, or 8.77% to 4295.
Today’s Markets
One session after the Dow officially entered correction territory, Wall Street extended a selloff in global equity markets as worries about significant deterioration in China sparked fear in the minds of investors around the world. The concern comes as traders wonder what the next shoe to drop is from Chinese officials to stem the bleeding. The world’s second-largest economy moved two weeks ago to devalue its currency, the yuan, on the heels of continued weakness in its economic data.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...0?intcmp=hpbt1



I would like to know where does the "money" go when the market drops.

Lets say you have $10,000 in your IRA and after the drop you have $8,000.

Where did the "dollars" evaporate to?

[buffalopundit]

Meltdown on Wall Street: Stocks Plunge Amid Global Tumult


http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...0?intcmp=hpbt1



I would like to know where does the "money" go when the market drops.

Lets say you have $10,000 in your IRA and after the drop you have $8,000.

Where did the "dollars" evaporate to?

Is this a serious question?

[4248]

Yes - many people wonder where the magic money goes - supposedly you already earned it - like interest dividend and such - how does that get taken back ?

I think without being overly critical/insulting the explanation would be educational !

[Jeff]

*Facepalm*

[WNYresident]

Is this a serious question?

Very serious question.

[WNYresident]

Yes - many people wonder where the magic money goes - supposedly you already earned it - like interest dividend and such - how does that get taken back ?

I think without being overly critical/insulting the explanation would be educational !

What he said.

Think about it. You have a diversified portfolio and the market drops 500 points. How can every stock be affected and where did the "value" go?

And another thought. Why does it see when the market goes down you lose more in total than you gain when the market goes up?

[buffalopundit]

What he said.

Think about it. You have a diversified portfolio and the market drops 500 points. How can every stock be affected and where did the "value" go?

And another thought. Why does it see when the market goes down you lose more in total than you gain when the market goes up?

If you have a "diversified portfolio" and the market drops 500 points, that doesn't mean that EVERY STOCK is affected. It means that the 30 stocks listed in the DJIA are down 500 points, overall. Some might be up, others might be down. You have to go and look at the individual stocks to see how yours are performing, or do what most investors do and keep a list of just the stocks you own and track how they do overall instead of following DJIA. NASDAQ is different - a different exchange, and is a different index.

I don't know what "when the market goes down you lose more in total than you gain when the market goes up" is supposed to mean, but turning to your earlier question:

I would like to know where does the "money" go when the market drops.

Lets say you have $10,000 in your IRA and after the drop you have $8,000.

Where did the "dollars" evaporate to?

The money went nowhere because it didn't exist. Unless you liquidated it - sold the stocks to turn them into cash - that money was just a price.

Let's say you own a barrel of crude oil and you want to sell it. Yesterday it was worth $100, and today it's worth $39. There was no "money" - just oil. The oil is still there, but it's worth less because of a variety of reasons, most commonly dealt with through supply & demand. If you were the only guy with a barrel of oil and 50 people wanted to buy it, you could jack the price up. If 100 people had a barrel of oil each and 50 people wanted to buy some, then your ability to jack the price up would be diminished. Actually, in order to sell it, you'd have to make your barrel more attractive to buyers and decrease the price.

If your stock in IBM was $100 yesterday and is worth $80 today, your "money" went nowhere because it didn't exist (technically, the only money involved is what you paid to buy the stock to begin with. Maybe you bought IBM for $20 so, you're still up on the deal). You can do two things: sell now and get your $80, or wait for it to go back up. Up to you.

tl;dr, the "dollars" didn't evaporate, the price of the stock simply went down. Buy more.

[4248]

Now that's a fine contribution to the thread - no sarcasm - no demeaning - Thank You !

I knew you had it in you !

[Save Us]

It's all arbitrary based on what people feel a companies profit potential is
The value of currency is based on belief as well. It is arbitrary albeit with more subtle fluctuation. It's all ethereal .

Money has least volatility, and is universal.