Expert mantra: Count on leaders to beat turmoil

Banking, FMCG, telecom biggies may help protect portfolios amid tariff woes

- Mayur Bhalerao

MUMBAI: Asia's financial markets were rattled earlier this month after the US announced sweeping tariffs, imposing a blanket 10% duty on all imports and targeting key economies like India, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Thailand with steeper levies.

China retaliated swiftly, slapping duties as high as 125% on US goods, escalating tensions into a full-blown trade war.

In India, the Nifty 50 plunged over 5% in four days post tariff announcement, while the India Volatility Index (VIX) shot up 65.7% to 22.8 on April 7—its sharpest single-day spike since 2007.

US President Donald Trump on April 9 paused the tariffs for 90 days for most nations (excluding China), fuelling a rebound in the blue-chip index Nifty 50.

However, uncertainties linger.

Market experts shared insights with Mint to identify sectors and stocks expected to weather potential trade-induced slowdowns or a full-blown recession:

Threat & opportunity

Aamar Deo Singh, senior vice president-research at Angel One identified four sectors—electronics, jewellery, textiles, and pharma—as the most exposed.

"Pharma sector—currently, tariffs have not been announced, but there is bound to be a significant announcement by Donald Trump, so that could have an impact on our pharma companies—to a negative extent.

The US market is critical for Indian pharmaceutical firms, evidenced by the approximately $10 billion worth of pharmaceuticals exported from India to the US in 2023.

Yet, he pointed out India's relative advantage.