MARKET PLUNGE RATTLES AREA INVESTORS; PLANNERS CAUTION LOCALS TO FOCUS ON LONG TERM IN SEESAWING DOW RIDE.Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer Investment firms in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. were scrambling Thursday to put clients at ease in the wake of another plunge in the Dow Jones industrial average Dow Jones Industrial Average The best known U.S. index of stocks. A price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks, primarily industrials including stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. , which fell more than 200 points before regaining a bit. ``As an investor you can't care about the short term, the market is a 10-year investment,'' said Damon Simpson, a financial planner Financial Planner A qualified investment professional who assists individuals and corporations meet their long-term financial objectives by analyzing the client's status and setting a program to achieve these goals. at Saugus' Triple Check Financial Services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. Firm. However, Simpson's 10-year calculation did not help to ease fear in others. After a 10 percent drop in Hong Kong's stock market appeared to have shaken confidence in American companies that depend on Asian business, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 229.6 points by midday, recovering to a dip of 186.88 points, or 2.3 percent, by the close of the day. The Nasdaq stock market's composite index Composite Index A grouping of equities, indexes or other factors combined in a standardized way, providing a useful statistical measure of overall market or sector performance over time. Also known simply as a "composite". was down 2.4 percent. Laverne Harris, who runs her own investment firm in Saugus, was stunned by the drop. She said she had no answers for customers worried about their investments. ``I wouldn't know what to say about it,'' Harris said. The damage comes as many have been watching the market closely recently because of the 10-year anniversary of the Oct. 19, 1987, crash. Thursday's loses were widespread throughout the stock market and none of the Dow's 30 components was in positive territory. Glen Poulter, a stock dealer at Schroders in London, told The Associated Press the fear is that the Dow's plummet coupled with the huge loss suffered by Hong Kong's Hang Seng Hang Seng An index of the leading stocks on the Hong Kong stock market. Notes: The Hang Seng Index (HSI) comprises different stocks that are representative of the whole Hong Kong market. See also: DAX, Index, Nikkei, S&P 500 blue-chip index, will affect markets the world over. The Hang Seng index Hang Seng index The major index in Hong Kong. Hang Seng Index A market-weighted index of 33 stocks making up approximately 70% of the market value of all stocks traded on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. fell 10 percent Thursday and 23 percent for the week. A Stevenson Ranch financial analyst, who spoke on the condition he not be identified, said his clients are taught to come to grips with losses of this magnitude. ``My clients are schooled, we focus on the education of investors and let them know this is a long-term thing, not a short-term,'' he said. The drop still left the Dow up more than 20 percent so far this year and merely wipes out the gains posted this week, Simpson said. ``Earlier this year the Dow dropped about 800 points in two months and recovered nicely. It'll recover again,'' he said. |
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