Stock prices have been sliding, and major indexes recently reached new lows for the year. The S&P 500 (^GSPC +0.11%) is down by nearly 6% from its peak, as of this writing, with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.18%) falling by around 9% after recently entering correction territory.

This doesn’t constitute a market crash, and the U.S. is not in a recession right now. But if the economy worsens and stock prices fall further, three investing moves can help protect your portfolio.

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1. Avoid panic selling

It can be tempting to sell off your investments when stock prices are in freefall. After all, if the market continues this downward slide, there’s a good chance your portfolio might lose even more value.

The…