The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 460 points and headlines mostly blame the coronavirus outbreak in China as it spreads around the world.

A few headlines this morning:

Stocks Tumble Around the World on Virus Jitters

China Deaths Jump as Measures Fail to Slow Spread of Virus

What’s Being Done to Limit the Spread of the China Virus

Millions Left Worried, Angry and Isolated After Wuhan Lockdown

Stocks Drop on Coronavirus Fears

The Dow industrials fell about 400 points as detection of coronavirus in new patients in the U.S., Australia and France led to escalating concerns about the containment and potential economic impact.

People love a good story, so the narrative gets the blame for falling prices.

As I shared in What’s the stock market going to do next? and Periods of low volatility are often followed by volatility expansions, it’s really just the market, doing what it does.

The stock market is declining simply because it was priced for perfection. You can see in the chart below, as the price trend of the S&P 500 stock index trended up the past several months, its volatility, or the range of prices, was tight.

Who doesn’t love a quiet uptrend?

It was a nice quiet uptrend, suggesting investors were complacently enjoying the ride. I was to until it reached an extreme, then I hedged off some risk, then reduced the possibility of loss completely by taking profits and shifting to short term U.S. Treasuries.

This time, I was just a little early with my hedging, but that was ok. The higher stocks trended up and more volaltity contracted, the more likely the trend would reverse down and volatility expands.

That’s what we’re seeing now.

While an SPX at 3200 is a ‘normal’ range for the market to move, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the price trend decline to the blue line I marked on the chart.

Of course, as I said in Now, THIS is what a stock market top looks like!, it could be an even larger peak, too.

Anything is possible, which is why we necessarily need to actively direct and control the possibility of loss for asymmetric risk-reward.

I don’t believe this price decline is driven by the coronavirus outbreak in China as it spreads around the world. I think it’s just the market, doing what it does, as I’ve shared the past several weeks. Some catalyst gets the blame for it.

Mike Shell is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Shell Capital Management, LLC, and the portfolio manager of ASYMMETRY® Global Tactical. Mike Shell and Shell Capital Management, LLC is a registered investment advisor in Florida, Tennessee, and Texas focused on asymmetric risk-reward and absolute return strategies and provides investment advice and portfolio management only to clients with a signed and executed investment management agreement. The observations shared on this website are for general information only and should not be construed as advice to buy or sell any security. Securities reflected are not intended to represent any client holdings or any recommendations made by the firm. Any opinions expressed may change as subsequent conditions change.  Do not make any investment decisions based on such information as it is subject to change. Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal an investor must be willing to bear. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All information and data are deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. The presence of this website on the Internet shall in no direct or indirect way raise an implication that Shell Capital Management, LLC is offering to sell or soliciting to sell advisory services to residents of any state in which the firm is not registered as an investment advisor. The views and opinions expressed in ASYMMETRY® Observations are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect a position of  Shell Capital Management, LLC. The use of this website is subject to its terms and conditions.