How Markets Behave During War: Lessons from the Gulf War (90โ€“91)

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๐Ÿง  Overview
As global tensions escalate and risk sentiment deteriorates, itโ€™s worth revisiting how major asset classes behaved during past war scenarios. The Gulf War (July 1990 โ€“ March 1991) offers a clean case study with distinct phases of market psychology.

๐Ÿ“Š What This Chart Shows
A synchronized visual comparison of:
Gold โ€“ Classic safe haven behavior
S&P 500 โ€“ Risk asset sentiment
DXY โ€“ USD demand during crisis

๐Ÿงญ Phases Identified
Phase 1 โ€“ Shock
๐Ÿ“ˆ Gold spikes | ๐Ÿ“‰ Stocks crash | ๐Ÿ“‰ USD weakens
โ†’ Panic phase as markets price in uncertainty

Phase 2 โ€“ Consolidation
Market stalls, both risk and safe haven flows stabilize.

Phase 3 โ€“ Gradual Risk-On
Equities begin recovering as risk appetite cautiously returns.

Phase 4 โ€“ Shake-Off & Parabolic Rally
Gold rolls over, stocks go parabolic, and DXY forms a double bottom.

๐Ÿ” Key Insights
๐ŸŸก Gold surged +17% in 43 days, then faded
๐Ÿ”ด SPX dropped -17%, then reversed with a +26% rally
๐ŸŸฃ DXY fell -9%, but rebounded sharply later

โฑ๏ธ Timing matters: Safe havens perform early โ€” but are not eternal shelters.

๐Ÿ’ก Why It Matters Today
If current geopolitical risks evolve into a Gulf War-type scenario, we might observe:
๐ŸŸก A first wave into Gold or USD
๐Ÿ” A rotation back into risk assets as clarity improves
๐Ÿ“ˆ Opportunities for reversals in oversold names

This chart is not a forecast โ€” itโ€™s a framework. Patterns may not repeat, but they often rhyme.

โœ๏ธ Ongoing Series
This is part of a multi-part series exploring how markets react to war and crisis. Future posts will include:
Iraq War
Russia-Ukraine 2022
9/11 aftermath
COVID-19 as a โ€œwar-likeโ€ shock

๐Ÿ“Œ Follow for the next studies.

๐Ÿงท Chart: Gold, SPX & DXY during the Gulf War
๐Ÿ”– Annotated and structured by fredcast80

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