1. Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods risk worsening the country’s stock market underperformance against China.
2. India’s market is trailing China’s by $6.3 trillion, the widest difference since March
3. The index is heading for its worst annual performance since 2017, Bloomberg reported.
US President Donald Trump’s steep 50% tariffs on Indian goods risk deepening the country’s stock market underperformance relative to China, Bloomberg reported.
India’s market is now trailing China’s by $6.3 trillion — the widest gap since March — as the MSCI India Index lags its Chinese counterpart by 10 percentage points this quarter. The index is also on track for its worst annual performance since 2017, the report said.
Analysts warn that the tariff shock, combined with existing economic headwinds, could weigh further on investor sentiment and widen the gap between Asia’s two largest emerging markets.
Amid the ongoing tariff tussle between New Delhi and Washington, India on Friday firmly denied media reports suggesting that India has paused discussions with the United States regarding defence procurements.
“The news reports on India pausing the talks related to defence purchases with the US are false and fabricated. It is clarified that the various cases of procurement are being progressed as per the extant procedures," a senior official from the Ministry of Defence said.
While half of Donald Trump's 50 per cent tariffs announced on Indian imports came into force on August 7, the remaining 25 per cent are set to take effect on August 27. Ahead of that deadline, India may be planning a retaliation with countertariffs for US' 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium announced in June, people aware of the matter have said. “Washington is unwilling to address New Delhi’s concerns through talks, which leaves India with little option other than to retaliate,” one person aware of the matter has reportedly said.
