Stock markets can do strange things when a possible pandemic is on the rise.Michael Smith with STA Wealth Management says we have seen this before.
"We've seen everything : Ebola, the Swine Flu, SARS, Yellow Fever - you name it. It's a phenomenon with a long history. The Ebola crisis period saw the Dow Jones down 9 percent!"
Smith says the market doesn't like uncertainty but is optimistic about the corona virus' effect on the u.s. "Virus fears in the U.S. have caused stocks to plummet and come back to life again - sometimes in the same day.
"When people hear about viruses --- it's something they can't see. We become uncertain about what we can't see. Uncertainty is what the stock market hates. Right now it's uncertain how long this virus will last and how far it will spread. That uncertainty is what's creating a stock market panic."
Smith doesn't think this virus spread will do much damage to the U.S. markets - but oil and airline industries could be hit hard. .