By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M
(Reuters) -India’s equity benchmarks jumped about 1.5% on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said India had offered a zero-tariff trade deal to the United States, with investors cheering the prospects of an imminent annoucement.
The indexes, which had been swinging between gains and losses, rose sharply after Trump’s remarks, with the Nifty 50 closing the day 1.6% higher at 25,062.10 and the BSE Sensex gaining 1.48% to 82,530.74, marking their highest close in seven months.
All 13 sectors advanced, with heavyweight financials and information technology stocks rising about 1.3% and 1.2%, respectively.
G Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research called India’s zero tariff offer “a major positive for economy and markets,” adding it would ensure reciprocal duties on India are also very minimal or zero.
Analysts said a zero-tariff regime is unlikely to hurt Indian industry, given the difference in manufacturing profiles and the premium pricing of U.S. exports.
Trump’s remarks also signal an imminent trade deal, which could spur sustained foreign inflows, said Kranthi Bathini, director of equity strategy at Wealthmills Securities.
New Delhi is seeking to clinch a trade deal with the U.S. within the 90-day pause announced by Trump on April 9 on tariff hikes for major trading partners.
“It is very hard to sell in India, and they are offering us a deal where basically they are willing to literally charge us no tariffs,” Trump said in a meeting with executives in the Qatari capital Doha.
Tata Motors jumped 4.2%, propelling the Nifty Auto index around 1.9% higher. Its luxury car brand Jaguar Land Rover counts the U.S. as its fastest-growing market.
Three heaviest stocks in India – Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank – jumped 2.1%, 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively.
(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
