Markets Live: What's Happening and What to Do About It

To help you navigate today's volatile markets profitably, we started a brand-new service here at Money Morning.

It's a live stream with four of our industry experts.

And it's happening every day that the market is open.

Here's a brief recap of what they covered today (April 1)...

Chris Johnson on being risk averse and adding protection to your portfolio (9 a.m. EST)

  • Chris warns investors against owning small-cap stocks, airlines, and transportation companies.
    • Don't hold the positions if you're expecting a bailout from the government, because it's difficult to predict and could take a while to materialize.
  • The dam is beginning to crack in the retail sector. So, check your portfolio for these names and consider adding stop loss orders or buying puts to protect your downside.

Tom Gentile on trading volatility (11:30 a.m. EST)

  • Tom is urging investors not to blindly buy naked puts and calls today because options are 10 times more expensive than they were a month ago.
    • Stop being a fundamental or news trader... It doesn't work in this environment.
  • Instead, you should take advantage of the volatility premium on options today and become a short-term volatility trader. The best way to do this is with options spreads.
    • Options spreads lower your cost, lower your risk, and lower your breakeven while still helping you protect the long positions in your portfolio.
  • Tom is short-term bearish, but long-term bullish on oil.
    • Yesterday, he unveiled an options spread strategy that allows you to do both at the same time while taking on relatively low risk.

D.R. Barton, Jr., on uncertainty in the markets today (1:30 p.m. EST)

  • D.R. recapped the latest news from President Trump, indicating we may be in for a little more pain over the next couple weeks.
  • One of the biggest reasons we saw the market drop yesterday: uncertainty around the spread of the coronavirus, and concern that the numbers coming out of China may not be authentic.

Shah Gilani on U.S. banks and the latest PMI numbers from China (3:45 p.m. EST)

  • Shah said U.S. banks weren't doing well at the close yesterday because credit is drying up in the economy as companies try to deleverage their balance sheets.
  • He highlighted the latest PMI numbers from China and explained why he's not buying the miniscule drop from February to March.

Catch us tomorrow - starting LIVE again at 9 a.m. EST with Chris Johnson, right here.

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