It seems like everyone is really into stocks, both here in Finland and abroad. Am I the only one who finds this terrifying/amusing? Is it FOMO panic, trying to capitalize on market momentum with a successful exit?
For example, what’s so interesting about the Helsinki stock exchange right now, because I can’t think of anything sensible to buy? Practically nothing has changed in businesses, but should I just pay tens of percents more than a moment ago?
Same feelings here. People might be cautious in their words, but the price inflation of tens of percents in a couple of weeks due to buying pressure tells a different story: “actions speak louder than words.”
This could go on for a long time, and the future is hard to predict, but it’s difficult to see today as a great buying moment for most stocks (at least considering the risks). I haven’t sold anything myself, except for accepting the acquisition offer for Hoivatilat, as it’s hard to sell good companies even when they’re expensive, but nothing new to buy appears on my subjective radar (I might buy Kamux if I didn’t already own it).
Overall, the Helsinki stock exchange isn’t expensive, but especially in small and medium-sized companies, quite significant expectations have started to be loaded. It feels like investors have become very liberal with their money and dare to give it to all kinds of ventures with their hands outstretched in the stock market.
Another option is that the market, in its wisdom, sees economic growth accelerating and earnings growing at such a pace in the coming years that we fearful ones don’t realize. 
As far as I understand, many still have a lot of cash, and partly the current rise is due to its return to the market.
Well yeah. Maybe there are some companies in larger ones with more reasonable valuations, but then I’m not really basing it on businesses and their prospects. It would be foolish to lower my standards and start buying weak businesses just hoping the market will pay more when the earnings outlook is so-so.
I was thinking of slowly accumulating more liquid assets. There’s no rush, but I wouldn’t mind having a bit more dry powder available. The most significant purchases were made when shares weren’t as desirable. Now it’s logical to be more on the selling side.
Agreed. This feels completely crazy, that EAB Group is rising (+9.5%) even though no positive news has been heard. LeadDesk, Aallon and Efecte are taking a considerable head start in First North…
OST Purchasers in full swing?
This is this Tammiralli (Oak Rally)™(R).
Sounds like FOMO from sitting on cash and missing last year’s returns..
This is precisely the interesting thing. Pension companies, for example, probably have very strict limits on how much money can be put into the stock market. Since bonds have been pushed to rock bottom and returns are hard to come by with low risk, there is potentially buying pressure just from allocation changes, even without breaking those limits.
I sold all my shares at the end of December because I started to fear a bubble. Now my feelings are starting to change to the point where it seems that was a mistake, and the real rally is just beginning.
But let’s take a moment to calmly observe the development of cash
Fundamentally, @V_Trader, this is a really dangerous thought in itself, at least to my ear it sounds like FOMO, which is completely natural to some extent, but calmness in situations like these is good 
I myself am also sitting with over 80% cash weight, and I’m in no hurry to buy before there’s something to buy!
You’re probably right, but I just looked at a graph, for example, which suggests that investors still have a huge amount of cash to pump into stocks. That sparks the idea that there’s still a massive amount of upward pressure. (And on top of that, stimulus continues, and the trade war also seems to be resolving)
Good diversification and a reasonable portfolio size help immensely with the most radical actions. I guess there are a total of 30-40 companies in the portfolio from various industries, so selling the portfolio empty doesn’t immediately come to mind 
That’s some decentralization! 
Regarding the trade war, it’s worth remembering that “phase two” negotiations will presumably begin at some point, and all the difficulties are only just beginning when it comes to dealing with intellectual property rights and other such matters.
Now I don’t know if that’s so much. Quality companies from different industries, so I haven’t felt the need to heavily reduce the number. Most have been lying in the portfolio for years with their own weight, as long as the business is just going well.
Win-win in many ways, when the portfolio is not too concentrated on individual industries, but the companies’ business is still doing well. It’s always good to try to prepare for something unpredictable.
On the other hand, if a collapse begins, it will likely bring down all stocks pretty evenly. Will any industry’s stocks be safe then? For example, in 2018 when there was that roughly 20% collapse, everything fell pretty uniformly (including different asset classes).
Yeah, I agree with the previous opinions. It feels expensive, and my buying pants are definitely tucked away. I haven’t bought a single share in three months. My only “investment” last week was ordering Security Analysis. Over the past month, I’ve thoroughly read Intelligent Investor and realized that I’ve allocated my time better by studying Graham’s words than by stalking the markets. The future is hard to predict, but I’m pretty sure Mr. Market will come to my door with cheaper prices, and then I want to be sure I have extra funds to use.
Price is what you pay, value is what you get. Or how did that go?
They can all drop by twenty percent, but the essential thing is to separate the wheat from the chaff. Over time, stock prices follow a company’s fundamentals very closely, but in the short term, pricing can be anything.
Stocks no longer follow the defensive/cyclical classification as strictly. On individual days, you see how some REITs can perform well on a down day, but algorithms seem to sniff out prices quite accurately, making it difficult to benefit from sector rotation in a speculative sense. Or at least, this is the impression I’ve gotten compared to, for example, the time before the financial crisis. Apparently, the growing popularity of index investing is also reflected in these mass rises and falls.
I’m eagerly awaiting the earnings season. If company results don’t support the share price increase, one would expect prices to correct. But as mentioned, this isn’t necessarily what will happen. Maybe the bubble can also form because the big bear never showed up despite years of tempting it 
As a novice investor, it’s really difficult to get heavily involved in the market in a situation like this. Piling up honey jars for the bear isn’t very inspiring. Better to focus on, say, wading through earnings reports and buying when opportunities arise.