India has emerged as the top stock market pick in Asia by wealth fund managers, who view the country as a potential beneficiary of global supply chain shifts driven by US-China trade tensions, despite its unresolved trade talks with Washington and ongoing frictions with Pakistan.
About 42 per cent of fund managers have an overweight position on Indian equities, ahead of Japan at 39 per cent and China at just 6 per cent, according to a survey released by Bank of America Securities on May 13.
The report gathered insights from 109 panellists managing a combined US$234 billion in assets, who responded to questions by the bank between May 2 and May 8, before the temporary truce reached in the trade war between China and the United States last week.
The world’s two largest economies have agreed to significantly reduce tariffs on their respective exports to each other, easing trade tensions after weeks of escalating levies from both sides had cast a pall on the global economic outlook.
While the impact on investor sentiment remains uncertain, India’s strategic advantage has steadily increased since the US-China trade war began in 2017 under President Donald Trump, according to the report.
“India emerges as the most favoured market, perceived as a likely beneficiary of the supply chain realignments following the effects of tariffs,” the report said, citing Bank of America strategists.
