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Originally Posted by Oyarses
So you think that it would be wise or unwise for me to buy this weekend?
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If at all possible, it would be nice if you could buy a high-priced stock like Apple when the price is temporarily low. The entire market occasionally takes a brief dive, for one reason or another, at which time the prices of almost all stocks dip a bit lower than normal for a short period.
The dip might only last for a few hours; but if you have an account already set up, with a chunk of money already in it, then you can buy during the dip and get a pretty good price.
However, you have to be watching the market closely to take advantage of this situation. For example, there are times when companies announce their quarterly earnings. If a large, important company announces earnings that are lower than expected, that information can have a brief negative effect on the entire market - as in, a significant downturn for a few hours. The stock you are wanting to buy might go down 10% for a brief time that day, which would be a good time to buy it.
Or sometimes the market has a brief downturn when the Federal Reserve Board announces a rise in interest rates. Fed. announcements are scheduled in advance, and their decision about raising or lowering interest rates is based on other announcements about the national economy, like about the unemployment rate, the rate of new housing starts, and so forth.
Apple is being investigated about various past stock options issues; and if there are further negative findings, the stock price will probably dip on the day that such information is released to the press. You could wait for that possible event; or you could go ahead and buy now.
Or, you could use half of your allocated money and buy some stock now; and then buy more later if any negative announcements are made.
Always, however, you should only invest money that you are fully prepared to lose.