The most severe hurricanes that have hit the United States in the last 10 years have shown no discernable pattern of impact on the stock market, according to a study of the natural disasters by MSCI.

Ranking the eight top hurricanes by insured damage shows returns slightly up or down following each event but no pattern emerges, says MSCI, which provides indexes, portfolio risk and performance analytics, and governance tools for the financial industry.

Katrina in August 2005 far outranks the other hurricanes for insured losses at $46.6 billion, followed by Ike in September 2008 at $13 billion and Wilma in October 2005 at $11.7 billion. The insured losses give an indication of the financial impact of each storm, MSCI says. Sandy was not ranked as yet. Other significant storms include Charley, Ivan, Rita, Frances and Irene in order of insured losses.

"We observe that periods immediately following hurricanes Charley, Ivan, Katrina and Wilma, all of which had sizeable insured losses, did not see substantial increases in market volatility or significant negative returns," says the MSCI in the study, After the Storm. Adding in Frances and Rita, which saw almost no change at all positive or negative, did not change the conclusion.

"While there was market turbulence at the time of hurricanes Ike and Irene, it was largely caused by exogenous factors such as the financial crisis of 2008 and rising concern about the health of the Eurozone in late 2011," MSCI says.

It would be a fallacy to draw comparisons between Sandy and the market volatility following the terrorists' attacks of 2001 or the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March of 2011 because those were unpredictable events, says MSCI.

"Hurricane Sandy, on the other hand, was an anticipated event. The storm and the shutdown of the markets were known in advance, allowing investors time to evaluate whether to adjust positions," the study says.

The impact on a portfolio heavily invested in the insurance industry might not be as expected. A hurricane causing more damage than expected might mean heavier payouts than anticipated and a negative impact on returns in the short run. But it might cause the insurance companies to recalibrate models, leading to a more positive return in the long run.

Returns in other industries show impacts that might be expected. Utility companies would be faced with the high cost of repairing damages, retail and transportation would take a hit, but construction would be up, especially in the short term, the study says.

--Karen DeMasters