MW My IRA and personal trading account had the biggest one-day gain ever. What will tomorrow bring?

By Quentin Fottrell

'My personal trading account was up 18% in one day'

Dear Quentin,

I looked up my portfolio. My IRA was up and my personal trading account was up 18% in one day. I think it was the biggest one-day gain ever. What will tomorrow bring?

Working Stiff

Related: 'This is not in my tolerance level': I inherited a $600K portfolio from my father. Should I move it all into bonds?

Dear Working,

You have already gotten your answer. What a difference a day makes.

Check your portfolio every quarter, but don't check it every day. If you feel elated at a one-day gain as Wall Street navigates President Trump's tariff policy and the Federal Reserve's response, expect to feel a financial hangover when the opposite happens. It's OK for financial markets to get lashed by uncertainty - the enemy of bull markets - but do you also want whiplash in the process? You may be licking your wounds since writing this letter. If you keep checking, that's what's going to happen.

You have not gotten out of the market. Some people exit the market during or even after the market has taken a hit, in which case it's usually too late. Not only do you lose out on all those future returns when the market regains its momentum (as it has done based on historic data) but you then have to try to decide when is the best time to jump back in. It's a dangerous game for retail investors to play.

Probably the only people who should be checking their portfolio every day are day traders. Case in point: On Thursday, Charles Schwab $(SCHW)$, the online broker and money-management company, reported record first-quarter revenue as daily average trades increased to 10.74 million between April 7 and April 11 in the aftermath of Trump's initial announcement of "reciprocal" tariffs (and before he suspended most tariffs for 90 days on April 9).

You ask what could happen tomorrow. No one knows. Not Powell. Not Warren Buffett. And not your financial adviser.

Rudyard Kipling wrote: "If you can meet with triumph and disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same." Try to do the same with your paper wins and losses. The S&P 500 SPX, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, the tech-heavy Nasdaq COMP and the small-cap Russell 2000 RUT have swung wildly in recent weeks. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said it's not in a rush to deliver a rate cut as it weighs the impact of tariffs and the prospect of a recession.

You ask what could happen tomorrow. No one knows. Not Powell. Not Warren Buffett. Not Bill Ackman. And not your financial adviser. Trump is redrawing the relationship with America's trading partners, and the chips have not yet fallen. "The escalation in trade tensions and trade-policy uncertainty has triggered a spate of stock-market volatility, which we believe could persist," says BlackRock $(BLK)$, the asset-management company.

The aforementioned financial gurus will, I imagine, advise judicious and careful planning, rather than trading inspired by fear and panic. "Volatility cuts in both directions, making it important to stay invested. Many of our investors see opportunity in building additional diversification into portfolios and staying nimble to take advantage of price dislocations," BlackRock adds. "We expect tariffs to lower growth and boost inflation globally."

Obsessiveness leads to impulsiveness

The bond market is also raising concerns. Yields on U.S. bonds have experienced volatility recently as investors sold government bonds. When bond prices fall, bond yields rise. A lack of confidence in U.S. Treasurys - including 2-year Treasurys BX:TMUBMUSD02Y, 5-year Treasurys BX:TMUBMUSD05Y and 10-year Treasurys BX:TMUBMUSD10Y - potentially translates to a lack of confidence in the U.S. government and economy.

I'm reminded of this reader who wrote to me to vent about her financial adviser who, she said, cost her $20,000 by not selling her stocks before Trump announced his tariffs on April 2, a date the president called "liberation day." Stocks rebounded on April 9 when Trump said he would temporarily suspend most country-specific tariffs, while leaving 10% tariffs in place for most of America's trading partners. It was quite a week for stocks (and bonds).

The adviser in question, rightly or wrongly, may have been trying to shield their client from sudden moves that they would later regret. As I told the disgruntled investor: "Today, you rue the day he delayed selling. Tomorrow, you may rue the day you asked him to do so. You only lose when you sell. It's a bad idea to time the market, and that's what you're doing by asking your adviser to sell when there's a dip, even a scary one."

Get your highs and lows from reading a thriller or watching the new series of "Black Mirror" on Netflix instead.

No one wants to be a busybody so try, if you can, to stop taking a peek at your IRA and personal trading account on a daily or even weekly basis. Get your highs and lows from reading a thriller or watching the new series of "Black Mirror" on Netflix $(NFLX)$ instead. There are many other ways to maintain a healthy body and mind in stressful times. Exercise, get plenty of sleep, leave your iPhone $(AAPL)$ in the other room, and lay off the French fries and alcohol.

Obsessiveness leads to impulsiveness. "Like being a good parent or a successful boss, avoid micromanagement when it comes to your investments," says the American College of Financial Services. "Even in the best of times, financial markets fluctuate. Events will occur that you have no control over, from pandemics to political upheavals. Unless your livelihood depends solely on the stock market, don't pay too much attention to the short-term bumps in the road."

That doesn't mean ignoring your investments; it does mean checking in with your adviser during times of market volatility. "A smarter approach is to monitor significant changes in your own life," it adds. "If you win the lottery, you should definitely take a hard look at your asset allocation. The same holds true for more realistic occurrences such as a change in marital status, an unexpected inheritance, or a sudden change in your health."

Fasten your seatbelt. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

April is National Financial Literacy Month. To mark the occasion, MarketWatch will publish a series of "Financial Fitness" articles to help readers improve their fiscal health, and offer advice on how to save, invest and spend their money wisely. Read more here.

Related: I invested $100,000 in the S&P 500 and lost $10,000. How long will it take to recover?

You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com, and follow Quentin Fottrell on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.

Previous columns by Quentin Fottrell:

'There's no bad time to buy a house, only a bad time to sell one': Will Trump's trade war lead to a reduction in house prices?

'Frankly, I'm terrified': I'm 63 and nearing retirement. How should I invest my $80,000 inheritance?

'I've made the most money over the last 30 years buying solid companies in terrible markets': Should I start buying?

Check out the Moneyist private Facebook group, where members help answer life's thorniest money issues. Post your questions, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.

By emailing your questions to the Moneyist or posting your dilemmas on the Moneyist Facebook group, you agree to have them published anonymously on MarketWatch.

By submitting your story to Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of MarketWatch, you understand and agree that we may use your story, or versions of it, in all media and platforms, including via third parties.

-Quentin Fottrell

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2025 06:37 ET (10:37 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.