'India Will Continue To Trade With Or Without US, People Like Trump...': Porinju Veliyath On Tariff Impact

The US tariff rate of 50% on Indian goods has hit the sentiment in the Indian stock market as investors await the final round of negotiations between the two countries to finalise the terms of the trade deal. However, the current near-term triggers, such as subdued corporate earnings growth, elevated valuations, and sustained foreign capital outflows, have led to short covering and a sharp recovery in the market.

In the current market scenario, D-Street expert Porinju Veliyath, Founder & CEO of Equity Intelligence, told NDTV Profit in an exclusive interview that the Indian economy will continue to grow in the long term. On tariff impact, he believes that 'people like Trump will come and go', but the growth story will remain among the strongest in the world.

Porinju Veliyath told NDTV Profit that Trump's comments have had 'very limited shelf life' on any market and also that he can flip anytime. "India is not giving too much importance to Trump. We are not highly dependent on any country or leader," he said, while explaining the potential impact on markets due to US tariffs.

The market expert added that India has not reacted strongly to any of Trump's remarks so far. "Trump-kind-of people will come and go, but we will continue to be one of the strongest economies for a long time to come," asserts Veliyath, betting on India's growth story as an investor.

Veliyath termed the latest US tariffs as 'small abrasions' for the Indian market and believes that there is a 'vast opportunity for investors to build wealth, with equity investment being the most promising segment'.

Veliyath also told NDTV Profit that the Indian stock market in general is not very cheap due to the elevated valuations. "In the last six months, my own portfolio has been underperforming," he said. The ace investor added that the small- and mid-caps are stretched in valuations; however, there are still pockets of opportunities in India in general.

The Indian economy will grow in the long term, but we will have to face the headwinds such as muted corporate earnings and high valuations. I am not particularly excited about markets in India for the next one to two years," he claimed.

According to Veliyath, investors will have to see some sort of stagnation in the market. "It is not exciting for value investors to pick stocks in general, and one has to be extremely choosy in the pockets of opportunities too," he said. According to Veliyath, the hospital business in India will continue to boom; however, even those stocks are not available cheaply.

Coming back to the trade impact, the D-Street expert maintains an optimistic view for the long term and concludes that the tariff war will eventually get settled and "India will continue to trade with or without the US."