The stock market has recently fallen and dropped in value through the month of March, through times when many people are experiencing economic uncertainty.
The stock market has steadily built in volume, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing to a volume of over $12.5 billion during Feb. 2025, operating at a much higher volume than last year, when the volume traded was $7.4 billion in Feb. 2024. The stock market has become traded much more over the past 10 years, growing from $2.1 billion in 2014, however, inflation must also be considered when looking at this statistic. Recently, as the new president is taking office, many people are uncertain about the economy, due to high inflation rates and tariffs.
“The market is dropping drastically,” sophomore Toby Yuen said. “I think a whole lot of people are losing money…There’s a side of me that is very concerned and worried as I watch the market go down, and then also [an] assurance, knowing that it will be okay in the future.”
Yuen leads the investment club, and has been following the stock market, watching it fluctuate, and recently drop. The stock market is a volatile investment, according to economy teacher Matt Austin, and should be approached with caution.
“The stock market is purely speculative,” Austin said. “It’s all based on future projections, no one really knows what’s going to happen. So, when you’re investing it’s like there’s always a risk involved and ultimately it is a guessing game.”
Many people view the stock market as a good investment option, but it is important to consider the fact that it is high-risk, and involves a risk of loss, according to Yuen. Some Woodside students follow the stock market, tracking it so they are comfortable with stocks, tracking some specific stocks in particular.
“Apple’s a pretty good stock,” sophomore Knut Skarpaas said. “It’s been going a little bit down for a bit, but it’s probably gonna still do pretty good [in the future]. I think most of the market’s been going down for a [little while].”
The recent drop in the stock market has been sustained and could mislead people who are just learning about the stock market now, such as Austin’s economy class, according to Austin. However, he recommends starting investing, because of how crucial it is to start early.
“The best advice I could give anybody who is starting out their investment would be to look into as much as possible,” Austin said. “I tell my students, [that] the best investment you can make is a Roth IRA and you want to max out your retirement as much as possible, put them, put money away in your retirement accounts and your pensions. The money will just sit there unless you actually invest it, so you need to then invest it into safer, slow growth options for long-term gain, [using] compound interest, so the sooner the better.”
Woodside students are aware of the risks that come with the stock market, according to Yuen, this is a crucial thing to consider when making or looking into investments.
“I’d say just to be very careful because right now the stock market is a little volatile,” Yuen said. “It [has been] on a downward trend recently. So definitely do your research. Make sure you’re going into it well prepared.”
However, the stock market is not the only form of investment that people should look for, according to Austin.
“There are many types of investments,” Austin said. “There’s just lots of different ones you can invest in for certain things, I have a Roth IRA, which I can only take out when I retire or buy a home. There are different types of investments that you can give to other people that accrue [in] different ways or tax different ways. So it’s kind of messy. There’s a lot of research to do, but there are good investments for everybody, in every situation. So it’s worth it to do the research.”
