Harsh Goenka’s golden lesson amid falling stock markets: ‘Panic mein popcorn nahi, portfolio’

RPG Enterprises chairman Harsh Goenka has reacted to the ups and downs that the Indian stock market has been facing for a few weeks, sharing some witty yet valuable insights to navigate through the situation.

The billionaire said that the real hero of investing is that person who builds a portfolio when stock market crashes, not the one who buys ‘popcorn’, seemingly referring to bad quality stocks.

Taking to X, Harsh Goenka in a hilarious post compared the Indian stock markets to actors Salman Khan and Uday Chopra, stating that the Sensex is having mood swings these days.

“Markets aajkal full drama mein hain — ek din Salman Khan, agle din Uday Chopra. Sensex ko gazab ke mood swings ho rahe hain (The markets are into full drama these days – one day it's Salman Khan, the next day it's Uday Chopra. The Sensex is having weird mood swings),” he said.

Comparing stock price falls to clearance sale, Goenka said that quality stocks can be bought during a price cut, but people make bad decisions during these times.

“Jab prices girti hain, quality stocks clearance sale mein milti hai- lekin log panic mein underwear bhi bech dete hain! Jab market rally karta hai, toh portfolio bhi disco karne lagta hai. (When stock prices fall, there is a clearence sale on quality stocks, but people sell bad quality stocks during this time. When there is a market rally, then your portfolio starts to do disco),” Goenka said in his post.

Continuing his post, Harsh Goenka shared a valuable advice with investors.

“Bas yaad rakho: Investing ka asli hero woh hai jo panic mein popcorn nahi portfolio kharidta hai (Just remember, the real heroes of investing are those who buy portfolio during panic, not popcorn),” he said.

“Long term socho, short term mat royo (Think long term, don't cry short term),” Goenka added.

Stock market crash today

Sensex crashed nearly 1,200 points in intraday trade on Friday, April 25, on heavy selling across segments despite largely positive global cues. The domestic benchmark equity opened at 79,830 against its previous close of 79,801 and crashed nearly 1,200 points, or 1.50 per cent, to an intraday low of 78,606. The NSE counterpart, Nifty 50, opened at 24,289 against its previous close of 24,247 and plunged nearly 400 points, or 1.6 per cent, to an intraday low of 23,848.

However, the indices pared losses towards the end of the day. Extending losses to the second consecutive session, the Sensex closed with a loss of 589 points, or 0.74 per cent, at 79,212.53, while the Nifty 50 ended at 24,039.35, down 207 points, or 0.86 per cent.