'An Indo-US trade deal could bolster case for India'

Outside the US, Stephen Dover, chief market strategist at Franklin Templeton, is positive about Japan and emerging markets (EMs), including India.

- Dipti Sharma [e-mail]

Dover, who is also head of the Franklin Templeton Institute, said that a trade deal between India and the US would further strengthen his case for diversifying into India. He explained that any clarification on the deal is likely to be positive for the markets, unless it’s severely negative, which he doesn't expect. More importantly, he noted that it is in the long-term strategic interest of both countries to remain close partners.

Edited excerpts:

In India, there’s been a lot of talk about US heading into a recession and how that could trigger a global slowdown that then spills over into the Indian economy. How real is that risk?

You know, there has been a prediction of a recession for the last five years, so we've had the greatest predicted recession that never happens, over and over again. The very broad outlook, not just ours, but that of almost all strategists, is that we will not have a recession next year, largely because of the massive stimulus that’s already in place.