A Roller-Coaster Ride in the Stock Market

　　Do you enjoy a roller-coaster6 ride？ Ups and downs， zigs7 and zags8， free falls in the dark. I made several such rides in Disney Park in Florida. It was an awful yet exhilarating9 experience. But I vowed that I would not do it again since I really do not have the guts10 to experience so many things out of your vision and out of your control. You do not know where you are going and when it is going to be over.

　　However， I experienced another long roller-coaster ride in the stock market. So did a lot of my friends. In 1999， the bull dominated the stock markets in the States and stocks simply soared11， Dow and Nasdaq reaching their historical heights respectively. In particular， the technology sector grew like crazy. You did not have to be a technology guru12 to pick the right stock and get rich. You just picked any technology stock， at sheer13 blind random， and you would gain after a short period of time. That was the time when most of us――I mean the circle of our friends――got into the stock market.

　　In Connell， I had taken a couple of finance courses and learnt some basic concepts about stocks， such as " Buy low， Sell high" ，" Diversify your portfolio14" （i.e. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.） and " Invest for the long term." However， being a green hand15 in this market， I found it terribly hard to apply what I learnt. First of all， it was difficult to make a due judgment on when the price hit the bottom and was about to turn upward. I had a watch list. Some stocks just had the momentum16 from nowhere and kept on inching higher and higher； some just went headlong17 in the opposite direction. Secondly， it was easy to say " Diversify your portfolio" . But with my little savings that I invested in the market， it did not seem to make sense to divide a couple of thousand dollars among several stocks. When I tried to apply the evaluation theories to the stocks， they were outrageously expensive， especially those internet stocks. On the other hand， the stocks of traditional industries were punished really hard. They were cheap buys to me and fit the theory of " Buying low，" but they seemed to always stay in the red， with no hope of turning green.

　　Testing the water， I picked two stocks I believed had good fundamentals and were bargains. My husband， who understood nothing about the market， decided to go in an opposite direction. He picked only one technology stock simply by watching the news and following the hot sector. I was really dubious18 of how well he would fare19.

　　After the day we picked the stocks， we would keep our eyes on how the market did every day. However， we had different reactions to the market. The market soared one day and tanked another day； and to its rhythm20， my spirit rose to the sky and then fell into the hell. Although I told myself I should not be so emotional since I invested for the long term， I could not help myself jumping at the small percent age of gain and stomping21 at the loss.

　　My husband was able to keep his composure22 no matter what happened. The only thing that was changed by the market was his living habits. He used to get up really late if he had no classes. Since he entered the market， he got up very early to watch the premarket news and made his moves. He traded frequently， sometimes buying and selling within a day. I kidded23 him that instead of becoming an academician24 he ought to become a happy daytrader. In two months， he made a couple of thousand dollars. Encouraged， he invested more time and energy into it. At the end of each day， he had tons25 of analysts' comments about his stocks and mine since I did not have too much time doing research. While I was glad that he enjoyed what he did and made some money， I was afraid that it took up too much of his time. However， it was hard for him to go back to the life before he entered the market. He cut back the time he spent surfing on the internet for the stock-related news， but still could not help turning on the TV to watch CNBC， the channel devoted to the stock market. And when we had a get

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