Greed and Fear: Jefferies' Chris Wood's confidence in India increased, here are 5 reasons Limited Trump ta:

Jefferies' Global Equity Strategy Head Christopher 'Chris' Wood's confidence in India has increased amidst global uncertainty. In his recently released Greed and Fear report, he has said that he will give an Overweight rating to India while increasing the confidence in it. Wood said that in the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) Relative Return Portfolio, Taiwan's weightage will be reduced by 2% and India's weightage will be increased by 2 percentage points.

In the Greed and Fear report, Wood, while explaining the reasons for India being overweight, said that these are the same reasons given in the report "Five reasons to OWT India" (OWT means Overweight) by Mahesh Nandurkar, Research Head of Jefferies India. Nandurkar has listed five solid economic reasons for increasing investment in India, which include less trade risk from America, falling oil prices, better liquidity and the inclination of foreign investors.

What are these 5 reasons Trade risk from America is limited According to the report, India's total trade with America is around 18 percent, but India's trade surplus with America is only 1.2 percent of GDP while exports are 2.3 percent. In comparison, the trade surplus of countries like Korea and Taiwan is much higher, due to which trade tension with America will prove to be less risky for India.

Relatively low tariff rates: The tariffs imposed by the US on India are on average 26%, which is much lower than countries like China (104%) and Taiwan (32%) and close to Korea (25%). The Indian government is working towards further reducing these tariffs through a bilateral trade agreement with the US. This situation is also in India's favor compared to other countries.

Falling crude oil prices: Brent crude prices have fallen by 20% so far this year to around $60 per barrel. India is a major oil importer, so this decline will improve the country's current account deficit, inflation and fiscal conditions. The government has also increased revenue by increasing excise duty on petrol and diesel. This will give the government additional revenue of Rs 320 billion.

Increasing trend of foreign portfolio investors (FPI): Since September 2024, FPIs have sold $27 billion from India. Amidst long selling and global signals, however, there are now indications that foreign investors may change their stance on India.

RBI's relief liquidity policy: The Reserve Bank of India has adopted an 'accommodative' stance from 'neutral' in its monetary policy, due to which the liquidity position of banks has now come in surplus. From December 2024 till now, RBI has injected Rs 8.5 lakh crore of cash into the system. This will facilitate the reduction of bank rates and will boost credit growth.