A Stock Market Correction Could Be Coming. Here's 1 Move All Investors Should Make Right Now.
Key Points
The S&P 500 is trading at historically lofty levels.
Inflation may lead to an interest rate hike.
- These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires ›
Could a stock market correction, or even a crash, be coming soon? The answer is an unequivocal yes -- because corrections or crashes happen every few years. They're to be expected.
Given that, we should all think about what the best investment move is for us.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
Why a crash?
Personally, I can think of a number of reasons why a pullback could be coming soon. For starters, the long-term average annual gain for the S&P 500 is close to 10%, but we've now had double-digit gains in six of the past seven full years.
Therefore, the S&P 500 was recently trading at a rather steep price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 32. The last time it was this high was before it crashed in 2020. Similarly high levels occurred before other crashes, too.
And inflation has been rising over the past year or more, thanks in part to tariffs, the war with Iran, and even artificial intelligence (AI) and the data centers used to run it. That can lead the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to hike interest rates, which tends to not be great for business or the stock market.
What to do
So what should you do? Well, it depends:
- As always, never keep any money in the stock market that you expect to need within five, if not 10, years. You don't want to have to sell to generate cash after a big market drop.
- If you have a long investing period ahead, it's often best to ride out any downturns. Most market pullbacks resolve within a year or two, though they could last longer.
- If you're approaching retirement, you might move a chunk of your assets into less volatile investments, such as CDs, money market accounts, bonds, etc.
- If you're very risk-averse, perhaps move some of your assets out of stocks.
Many of us might want to sell some holdings just to generate cash that can be deployed into bargain-priced stocks after a crash. If you do this, perhaps focus on your most overvalued or volatile holdings.
Where to invest $1,000 right now
When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor’s total average return is 929%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 211% for the S&P 500.
They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 12, 2026.
The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
