Thoughts on the November 13, 2025 Selloff
This time, it feels much more like a sentiment-driven selloff than “the world is blowing up.”
COVID was the kind of shock where: overnight, the whole world went into lockdown and real economic activity was basically put on pause.
Russia–Ukraine was the kind of shock where: energy and food prices spiraled out of control almost immediately.
The tariff episode was the kind of shock where: the policy was written in black and white, and corporate cost structures were repriced on the spot.
All of those could be summed up in one sentence: the downside had a clear name, a clear transmission path, and you could literally run the numbers.
This time, the bigger picture looks more like this:
Tech and AI names had already run very hard, and valuations were stretched going into this.
The government shutdown risk and data gaps are making people even less certain about the outlook.
Financial media keeps amplifying “bubble,” “correction,” and “risk,” and once institutions get nervous, they tend to de-risk together.
There isn’t a brand-new “super black swan.” It’s more like: extended gains + low visibility + fear of getting trapped at the top.
For everyday investors, I think a few points really matter:
Don’t automatically assume “the world is ending” every time the market sells off.
When sentiment is in the driver’s seat, it’s less about who reads more headlines and more about who has position sizing and psychology under control.
The real question to ask yourself is: am I investing in business value, or am I just trying to front-run other people’s emotions today?
I’m mainly writing this down as a note to myself:
When I look back later, this selloff may turn out to be just one big swing in market sentiment during 2025.
— This is not investment advice, just a few honest thoughts from an ordinary person who watches the market closely and wants to leave a record for himself.
