Jump to main navigation Jump to main content. Last updated Monday, Sep. As equity markets around the world plunge this morning due to the earthquake crisis in Japan, Desjardins Securities market strategist Ed Sollbach has crunched the numbers on eight previous natural disasters over the last two decades and found that the impact to stock markets appears to be minimal.

Sollbach said in a research note this morning. The energy sector was one of the best-performing sectors after a disaster, while gold stocks also did well. Insurance companies didn't do as badly as one might think.

The worst loss for the TSX insurance sector was 2. There were gains in six of eight natural disasters. What makes matters worse for markets now is that stocks are due for a correction and worries are high that the elevated price of oil will slow the global economy.

Past disasters that Mr. Sollbach could study included earthquakes and cyclones, but none included a nuclear crisis of Japan's scale, which is what appears to be worry markets the most this morning. Sober thoughts on market shakeups.

Denison squeaks under the wire with uranium financing. Oil prices plunge on radiation fears. Discover content from The Globe and Mail that you might otherwise not have come across.

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How do natural disasters affect the stock market?

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