Small Players Calm During Day’s Wild Ride

Wednesday’s stock market roller-coaster ride, during which the Dow Jones industrial average was off as much as 130 points, didn’t rattle Jeff Wolin in the least.

“I don’t get concerned with the daily fluctuations because I’m in it for the long term. For investors who’ve been through it before, it’s no big thing,” said Wolin, an electrician who was checking his stock portfolio at lunchtime.

“This high-tech rally of the last six weeks has been phenomenal,” he said. “There was bound to be a correction.”

Such sentiments appeared to be the norm among many small investors at the Downtown Los Angeles office of discount brokerage Charles Schwab & Co. Many have learned from the 1987 stock crash that it usually doesn’t pay to panic. They saw the day’s wild selloff--prompted in part by a plunge in technology issues--as a routine correction rather than a sign of a looming market crash or faltering economy.

Jawahar Shah, an engineer, said he remains convinced that the market is the place to be.

“I was expecting something like this. The market’s so high right now. But the fundamentals look very strong,” Shah said, rushing from ticker to terminal contemplating whether to buy while tech stocks were lower.

“When you see something like this for a few hours, you just ride it out,” said Bob Lainez, an IBM employee.

Co-worker Dave Nydam’s market position was also unchanged. “If I saw something fundamentally wrong with the market, I’d get out.”

Spencer Weiser, an employee of the Metropolitan Water District, meditated on the running ticker. He sold tech stocks last week and is thinking of buying some back at the lower prices.