What I've seen is that students tend to be very, very cautious. Kevin Konkal, a senior American studies major, said he plans on getting into mutual funds when he graduates in May. Mutual funds are a financial instrument that bundle various stocks together, making them more stable than a single stock. Because millions of people own stock, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint a single reason for the overall downturn of the market. The April 4 ruling in the government's case against Microsoft that it broke antitrust laws, and the break of talks between them have also affected the stock market. The stock market is tricky, experts say.
Prices go up and down on a whim.
By the market close yesterday, however, the Dow Jones industrials had regained 267.74 points, and the Nasdaq had posted 213.7 points, making back 40 percent of its losses Friday. If you're in there trying to outguess the market, that's where you lose. There are some people who have been lucky outguessing the market. A lot of others have lost their shirts. He said, however, he doesn't see that happening any time in the near future.