The stock market just finished its worst week since 2020. Here’s what the pros say to do in a sell-off.

• The stock market is in meltdown mode amid the trade war.

• Most advice in times like this is, “don’t panic,” but it can be hard to keep a cool head.

• Market pros say have some advice if you’re worried about your portfolio amid the sell-off.

The stock market just capped off a historic two-day plunge amid the panic caused by President Donald Trump’s trade war.

On Friday, The Dow Jones Industrial Average cratered by more than 2,200 points, the Nasdaq 100 ended in a bear market, and the S&P 500 lost almost 6%.

That adds to Thursday’s declines, with the two-day crash vaporizing over $5 trillion in market cap.

No sector of the S&P 500 was spared, and at the end of Friday’s session, investors were taking stock of the worst week for the market since the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

In these moments, people may be tempted to peak at their investments and wonder: now what?

While “don’t panic” is sage advice, the impulse to take drastic measures can be strong, especially if you’re staring at a sea of red in your investment portfolio.

Retirement horizons are long, and history shows that the general path of stocks is up and to the right. However, if you need to make adjustments to your investment for some reason, there’s some general guidance that could help you weather the storm.

Here’s some recent advice market pros have shared with Business Insider.

Deep plunges are often followed by a market rebound, and even if the market doesn’t stage a full comeback, if you need to sell you should wait for things to turn.

As Gina Bolvin, the president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, told BI’s Matt Fox in March about steps to take before a recession:

“Don’t panic. The headlines — and the market — change quickly.”

Familiarize yourself with stocks that are considered cyclical (those that tend to outperform when the economy is strong, such as consumer discretionary stocks), and those that are defensive (such as consumer staples stocks).

Consumer staples are the best-performing S&P 500 sector in 2025, up 5.4% even after two days of market carnage. By comparison, consumer discretionary stocks are down 17% year-to-date, technology is down 18%, and communications stocks are down 10%.

Gold and Treasurys have also been historical safe havens, and investors can get exposure easily through ETFs.

“The only change to your portfolio should be to confirm it’s diversified and you can weather the storm in good times or bad,” Bolvin said.