“Geopolitics and Dalal Street: Five lessons for retail investors in times of war”, First Post, March 09, 2026
“The ongoing crisis in West Asia has created a bloodbath and uncertainty in the Dalal Street. Israeli-American and Iranian missiles didn’t only fall on and destroy each other’s targets all over West Asia. They also fell on the Dalal Street and wiped out more than Rs 10 lakh crore of the wealth of investors. Here it is pertinent to note that large investors, which also include Foreign Portfolio Investors and domestic investors, have a good grasp of geopolitical developments and their impact on the stock market. Add to that their professional approach to investing helps them largely insulate their portfolio against shocks arising from the war.
However, retail investors are different. They are innocent and have limited access to critical information and insights, unlike big investors. This causes them to either panic and take erroneous decisions or stay out of the market when the market offers attractive opportunities. This article discusses the top five lessons and top five cautions that a retail investor should take while investing in equity markets in such times of war.
To begin with, people need to know that markets don’t fear war. They fear uncertainty. When any war begins, big participants in the market open their Excel sheets, rework the numbers, and identify opportunities to invest in. People must remember that any volatility in the market amid such global geopolitical uncertainty doesn’t mean that the Indian economy has gone bust. Rather, such situations result in restructuring the portfolio. People must also remind themselves that markets have always remained volatile and subdued in such times of crisis, but have always rebounded after all wars ended……”
Read full article at firstpost.com
