LIVE MARKETS-The bull case for India

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THE BULL CASE FOR INDIA

After a streak of annual gains for nine straight years, India's Nifty 50 .NSEI has succumbed to the pressure that has hit Asian markets this month. So far this year, it's down around 1.3%, but is still faring better than a number of other major benchmarks in the region, which have been similarly bruised by U.S. tariff concerns.

Thailand .SETI, Taiwan .TWII, Indonesia .JKSE and Japan's main indexes .N225 are down around 3%-16% year-to-date.

For India at least, there is a compelling bulls case, according to Yi Ping Liao, a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity, who told the Reuters Global Markets Forum, "from a medium- to long-term, India presents an attractive opportunity for investor inflows," thanks to the government's commitment to reducing investment barriers, investment support into strategic areas, and its long-term growth opportunity.

India's close ties with the U.S., its moderate trade surplus and U.S. companies' keenness to tap into its large consumer markets could pave the way for favourable trade deals with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, according to Prashant Bhayani, CIO, Asia, BNP Paribas Wealth Management.

Further, Sonal Varma, Nomura's chief economist, Asia ex-Japan noted, "if India buys more U.S. energy or defence, then it's possible that a deal could be negotiated," adding that India may also benefit from supply chain relocation.

(Join GMF, a chat room hosted on LSEG Messenger: https://lseg.group/3KFHrhe)

(Ankika Biswas)

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