New Delhi, Nov. 4 -- We are the playthings of time and volatility.

Sometimes those inexorable forces coexist peacefully, and life-in and out of markets-is uneventful and even halcyon. Other times they furiously collide. When profound change is involved, as now, the collision can be so shocking that basic truths are easily forgotten.

Consider these observations not as philosophical meanderings but as a way to understand recent market activity, when lackluster earnings stripped hundreds of billions of dollars-and maybe more-from benchmark indexes and top stocks.

Intel sparked the powder keg last week when the chip maker issued weak fourth-quarter financial guidance after beating third-quarter earnings estimates. The stock fell 29% and sh...