Safe bets steal the stock show

NEW YORK – The stock market is looking increasingly like an opera: Triumphant returns in one scene followed later by a chanting chorus as a player is dragged down to hell.

At the end of Act III on Wednesday, as trading closed, the Dow Jones industrial average marched off with a nearly 2 percent gain, as did the broader market indexes. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UnitedHealth Group were the conquering heroes, exiting on the shoulders of investors, each up more than 5 percent. Yahoo Inc., by contrast, was left bleeding on the stage as the curtain closed, down 22 percent to a two-year low.

It was a marked contrast to the previous week’s action, which left the major indexes bruised and uncertain as distant war drums pounded.

Just as watching opera all day every day may be a path to madness, so with watching the market. Wise investors buy the stocks they believe have a bright future, sell the stocks they think could betray them in the long run, then remove themselves from the their computer, turn off CNBC, and turn to quieter activities, such as gardening or mall walking.

Diva stocks, diva sectors, may come and go, but those who invest broadly and patiently have a greater chance of solid returns. And safety. After all, it’s hard to think of an opera where the entire chorus gets killed.