What happened
Yandex (YNDX 3.21%). Weibo (WB 1.14%). Telkom Indonesia (TLK 0.77%).
What do Russia's biggest search engine, China's version of Twitter, and Indonesia's giant phone company have in common? And one other thing: All three of these international tech stocks are down more than 10% in Wednesday trading.
As of 1:25 p.m. EDT, Yandex is down 11%, Weibo 12%, and Telkom Indonesia 11.8%.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Why are they down? I blame coronavirus.
The novel coronavirus is a global pandemic and a global problem right now. According to the World Health Organization, there are now more than 193,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, and the disease has touched 164 of the globe's 195 countries. That's obviously going to have an effect on international stocks.
Now what
The good news is that (despite all appearances to the contrary) this will not go on forever. Yesterday, China reported only one new case of coronavirus detected within its borders.
While there's margin for error in that assessment, it does appear that the country where the virus originated is apparently approaching the point at which the virus has run its course.
There's an end to this tunnel, folks. It may not be in sight just yet. It may not even be an indeterminate glow in the distance. But China's example provides a clear hope that it's out there, nonetheless.
Call me a crazy optimist, but I'm with Warren Buffett on this one. The time to buy stocks is now, before we even see the end of the tunnel.
