Hurricane Isaias is heading toward Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. The storm is getting stronger. Landfall is expected late Friday or early Saturday on the northern Gulf Coast.
Retail traders in those states are scrambling to figure out how a hurricane affects their three shares of SPY. They're checking their apps. They're googling "do stocks go down during hurricanes." They're realizing their brokerage account won't save them from a Category 3 wind event.
The most devastating part of this forecast isn't the storm surge or the wind damage. It's that thousands of day traders will lose internet access for up to 72 hours. They'll miss the chance to panic sell at a loss during whatever manufactured dip happens Monday morning. They'll have to sit in a shelter with their phones at 8% battery, unable to buy the rumor or sell the news or do whatever the f*ck they learned from that guy on YouTube.
Some genius in Pensacola is right now moving his entire portfolio into Home Depot because "hurricanes mean people buy plywood." He's telling his wife this is their moment. He's already spending the profits. He doesn't know 40,000 other morons had the same thought.
The National Hurricane Center keeps updating its models. Meteorologists are tracking barometric pressure and wind shear. They're providing actual data that might help people evacuate safely. Meanwhile, retail traders are trying to figure out if this makes oil go up or down, as if their $200 position in USO matters to anyone including themselves.
Isaias doesn't care about your technical analysis. The storm isn't forming a bull flag on the hourly chart. It's just going to hit the coast, cause billions in damage, and move on. Your stop loss won't stop the wind.
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