The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 634 points to end the day at 10,809.

"Today is a panic," said Roland Manarin who has been in the investment business in Omaha for 35-years.

He calls the huge wall street sell off -- on this first day of trading since American debt was downgraded -- a classic correction. "The market was cheap two months ago. It's a lot cheaper today. The folks scared about their retirement - forget about it. It's going to rocket back."

Many experts told Channel 6 News that the best advice if you're not going to buy right now is to do nothing with the portfolio.

"We're not going to have a recession," said Manarin. "This is temporary. This is a technical correction. And my guess is there's an even chance the Dow will exceed 13,000 by year end."

It was late July when the Dow was flirting with 13,000.

Amid the disappointing news to so many investors, gold set a record on Monday selling for $1,713.20 an ounce. It was up $61.40.