Why this stock market sell-off is scarier than 2008

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OPINION: The stock market may experience a lot of fits and starts over the next few weeks as headlines alternatively suggest that the spread of the coronavirus is under control — or intensifying.

Yes, the Fed can do lots of things to help soothe frayed nerves when stocks are in free fall, but there is little that the Fed — or President Trump and Congress, for that matter — can do to solve this biological crisis for the markets and the economy.

But rate cuts, tax cuts and other stimulus won't stop a virus and the ultimate economic impact it will have. In 2008, I often urged readers to not assume the worst and dump their stocks. Yes, big banks were in a lot of trouble and the stock market was in tatters, but there was reason to believe back then that the actions taken in Washington — beginning with the Bush administration and continuing into the Obama White House — would ultimately bear fruit.

It's hard to imagine how cutting interest rates from already low levels will stop people from worrying about an outbreak. Also, negative interest rates in Japan have failed to reignite its long dormant economy and it's not clear that they will lift Europe out of stagnation anytime soon either.The market may experience a lot of fits and starts over the next few weeks as headlines alternatively suggest that the spread of the coronavirus is under control — or intensifying.

Sure, more rate cuts from the Fed and even lower taxes could inspire some more bullish sentiment and get the market back on track. A boost in confidence may lead investors to keep buying stocks and consumers to keep shopping. But the only true solutions to a health epidemic are vaccines — and the passage of time.

 

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