New Delhi, March 17 -- War headlines, oil spikes and sharp market swings usually make one instinct louder than the rest: sell first, ask questions later. That instinct has been back in focus as global tensions have rattled equities and commodities, with the benchmark index Nifty 50 losing over 1,700 points since the start of this war despite 3 sessions of strong rally since March 1.

Reacting to the war, brokerages Citi and Nomura have also lowerer their Nifty targets. Yet the key question for traders is not whether the market is under pressure, but whether this is actually the right time to build fresh bearish bets.

Citi cut its target for the Nifty to 27,000 from 28,500 and lowered the index's target multiple to 19 times from 20 times ...