'Indian Equities To Be Key Beneficiary Of...': Standard Chartered Picks Top Bet Amid Tariff Risk

The Indian stock market staged a sharp rebound on Monday, snapping a two-day losing streak after positive results from major banks supported the frontline indices to rebound after many days of consolidation. The Nifty 50 index reclaimed the psychological 25,000 mark, buoyed by strong buying interest in banking majors such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.

VIX, the volatility index, declined by 1.67% to 11.20, reflecting easing fear in the market but continued caution. D-Street experts believe that investors remain focused on the earnings front to aid valuation. In the current scenario, Manpreet Gill, CIO, Africa, Middle East, and Europe, Standard Chartered, told NDTV Profit in an exclusive interview that he is optimistic for emerging markets, including India, in the second half of the year.

The Standard Chartered expert told NDTV Profit that in the backdrop of US tariff announcements and the uncertainty linked to it, investors "should be prepared for surprises"; however, he added that the lesson learnt from the past few months is "to find ways to live with the volatility."

"We should be prepared for volatility in the market, but on the macro lens, we need to keep an eye on inflation," he warned amid risks stemming from tariffs. However, Gill maintains an optimistic view on Indian markets and believes that the indices have "performed well' in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

"It is natural for the valuations to be on the higher side when the stock market is doing well," said Gill. "Indian equities are seen as a key beneficiary of a weaker dollar," he added, saying that the weaker dollar may benefit domestic investors.

Coming to sectoral picks, the market expert told NDTV Profit that Standard Chartered was earlier overweight on IT but has cut its bets on the sector since it remains to be "among the most impacted by tariffs and uncertainty around it."

Gill has picked the healthcare sector as the top bet to ride the current volatility amid tariff risk. "Healthcare is a better place to be versus tech. The sector has some exposure to tariff risks but not quite as much," he explained.

The defence sector is hard to ignore, but we need to zoom out a little," Gill concluded. Standard Chartered added that foreign capital inflows into emerging markets, including India, will improve in the second half of the year.