“Don’t panic” and “avoid knee-jerk reactions” was the message yesterday, after fears of another global financial crisis wiped as much as $60 billion from the sharemarket.

The city’s finance experts said the sharemarket dive, prompted by the ongoing US and European debt crises, would shake Orange investors.

However, they said any investors who felt unsure should seek advice before jumping out of the market.

“It’s going to be very interesting, because you’ve got two parts to this,” Roan Financial director Peter Roan said.

“The worst part is what we see on the news, which can be very distressing for people because they watch it and start wondering is what’s happening in America going to affect me?

“You’ve got emotion versus reality ... but as we’ve seen in the US they have done things to stabilise markets and that will continue.

“In other words, the world’s not going to end tomorrow.”

Mr Roan said it was easy for investors to take a short-term view during difficult financial times, when what they should be aiming for was a long-term financial strategy.

He said the fundamentals of the Australian economy remained strong and, in Orange, companies like Newcrest were examples of businesses that would continue to provide stable employment.

“There is also an up side and that is that deterioration in market confidence means some assets now are becoming more attractive in price,” he said.

“Sometimes when you see the price falling to what it was a week ago, or a few weeks ago, it just means it’s a better buy.”

Perkins Portfolio Management owner Charlie Perkins said the effects of the sharemarket plunge would differ depending on the type of investor.

“If you’re a retiree, and you need the value of your shares to be quite high, these are obviously very uncertain times,” he said.

“The advice I’m giving to people is sell if you have to and buy if you can.

“Unless you need the money today, hold on to your shares.

“It’s hard to see how the sharemarket would go lower than it did a few years ago ... it’s a time to be cautious, but not a time to panic.”

Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisors mortgage broker Paul Jarratt said a sharemarket dive could prompt greater investment in property.

“Normally when there’s a dive like this, there’s a rush to real estate,” he said.

“History shows that’s what’s happened in the past, but whether that happens this time, we’ll have to wait and see.”