Anand Rathi Wealth’s Feroze Azeez on what US tariff rollback means for Indian markets

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The announcement of an US-India trade deal, under which Washington would roll back the steep reciprocal tariffs, has eased months of trade-related uncertainty, with equity markets and the rupee both showing signs of renewed confidence. To decode what this shift means for investors, Feroz Azeez, joint chief executive of Anand Rathi Wealth, speaks with Mint to cut through the macro noise and explain how the development could shape portfolios.

Edited excerpts of the interview: Markets have cheered the move, with the Nifty, Sensex and even the rupee rallying sharply. Were these moves largely sentiment-driven, or do you see this as a trend reversal? This is not purely sentimental. When uncertainty lingers for months, its resolution has the power to trigger a sharp bounce.

The tariff overhang began in April 2025, when the first 25% duty was announced, followed by another tranche shortly after. Discussions dragged through September, October and November, and by the time the World Economic Forum in Davos rolled in, many had lost hope. It was only on 21 January 2026, when President Donald Trump remarked that India and US are going to have a good deal, that sentiment began to turn.

Since this uncertainty persisted for nearly six months, the market arguably deserved a 4-5%, even a 10% move. Ideally, given how short foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were in index futures, the rally could have been stronger. But the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) restrictions on long positions in options, introduced last June, limited momentum.

So, to reiterate, this move is not just about sentiment. Several economic variables improve meaningfully. While the modalities of the deal are still