iShares outlook spring 2026

We’ve outlined our views for spring, focusing on the following themes: focusing on income generation through UK dividend stocks, diversifying country exposure with India and maintaining gold to manage geopolitical risk.

Capital at risk. The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed. Investors may not get back the amount originally invested.

Key takeaways

  • UK dividends for income We continue to highlight the importance of building resilient portfolios, favouring assets that provide reliable income streams in more volatile markets. We continue to like UK dividend stocks, supported by their sector mix, with exposure to financials and energy.
  • India for diversification Emerging market (EM) stocks offer potential opportunities to diversify portfolios and tap into different tailwinds, in our view. While India may face near-term headwinds as an energy importer, it could play a useful role as a portfolio diversifier over the long term. Valuations have fallen recently, creating a potentially attractive entry point for long term investors.1
  • Gold for geopolitical risk Gold prices reached all-time highs in January 2026.2 Since then, we’ve seen some volatility in the precious metal, especially as the Middle East conflict triggered and inflation concerns. Nonetheless, we continue to see a role for gold to mitigate geopolitical risk in portfolios.3

Source:1,2,3 Bloomberg, as of 1 April 2026.

Financial markets have been volatile so far this year, due largely to geopolitical events in the Middle East. In this environment, we favour UK dividend stocks for resilience, look to select emerging markets (EM) such as India as a source of diversification, and continue to see a role for gold to mitigate geopolitical risk.

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