Suzlon, YES Bank, VIL, Tata Motors: 17 of 20 top retail favourite stocks fall amid Iran war

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (Tata Motors PV), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC), Tata Motors Ltd, IDFC First Bank Ltd, Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Steel Ltd and YES Bank Ltd are among 17 of the 20 stocks with the highest number of retail investors that have fallen up to 15 per cent since the Iran war began on February 28 (weekend).

Coal India Ltd, NTPC Ltd and Tata Power Company Ltd bucked the weak trend, data compiled from corporate database AceEquity suggests.

Tata Motors PV, which had 65.47 lakh retail investors as of December 31, 2025, has seen its shares plunging 15.32 per cent since February 27, as the stock slid to Rs 324.45 level from Rs 383.15 level. YES Bank, with second highest retail investors at 60.13 lakh, saw its shares falling 6.84 per cent to Rs 19.31 from Rs 20.73 earlier. Tata Motors Ltd, India's largest manufacturer of trucks and buses, fell 12.14 per cent since February 27. There were 59.80 lakh retail investors in Tata Motors at the end of Q3. 

VIL shares, held by 58.73 lakh retail investors at the end of 2025, have fallen 10 per cent since the Iran war broke out. "Over the past four decades, the market has witnessed six major geopolitical escalations, during which the index corrected 11 per cent on average over a median four-week period," ICICI Securities  said.

It noted that Nifty has already corrected 8 per cent and is now trading near the lower band of the rising channel in place since June 2022. This level also coincides with the 100-week EMA, thereby highlighting a strong structural support zone for the market, the brokerage said.

"With the ongoing decline, the percentage of stocks trading above their 50-day and 200-day moving averages has slipped back to around 25 per cent. Historically, such sharp contractions in market breadth have preceded durable market bottoms, particularly when readings approach extreme bearish levels of 15-20 per cent," the brokerage said.

Tata Steel Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd and Jio Financial Services Ltd, some of the retail favourite stocks  have fallen 5-9 per cent this month. 
 
Stocks such as Reliance Power Ltd, NHPC Ltd and Suzlon Energy Ltd fared relatively better, falling 0.5-1.5 per cent against Sensex and Nifty falls of 7.3-7.6 per cent during the same period.
Coal India Ltd, with 26.93 lakh retail investors, delivered 9 per cent return. Tata Power and NPTC gained 6 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.

The broader market tone is reflecting unease around the evolving geopolitical situation and firm crude oil prices, which could have implications for inflation and currency stability for import-heavy economies like India. In the near term, markets may continue to see bouts of volatility as global developments remain fluid. However, India’s underlying macro fundamentals and steady domestic liquidity could help cushion the downside," said Vikram Kasat, Head - Advisory, PL Capital.