India story revolves around robust earnings growth: HSBC's Van Der Linde

New Delhi, March 5: The India story is not overly dependent on macro factors such as decisions by the central bank or interest rates in the country but revolves around visible and robust earnings growth, Herald Van Der Linde, head of Asia Equity Strategy at HSBC, said on Tuesday.

Stressing that global investment funds look at India and China as separate entities, Van Der Linde said that they did not quit the country when China began its recent rally over the last few weeks.

"This type of earnings growth sets India apart in a positive light," he added.

Linde said he expects a gradual increase rather than a sharp rally in India.

India's economy sprang a surprise with an 8.4 per cent surge in GDP growth during the third quarter (October-December), as a result of which the country's economic growth rate for the financial year 2023-24 is now estimated at a robust 7.6 per cent, figures released by the National Statistics Office showed late last month.

The high growth rate of 8.4 per cent in the October-December quarter has been driven by a double-digit growth in the manufacturing sector of 11.6 per cent, followed by a good growth rate in the construction sector (9.5 per cent).

"The Indian economy remained resilient with a robust 7.6 per cent growth rate of GDP in FY 2023-24 over and above 7 per cent growth rate in FY 2022-23," the Ministry of Statistics said.

According to Van Der Linde, in light of rising global interest rates, accelerating inflation in the US, and the US market experiencing a significant correction, "it is unlikely that India could expect its market to rise independently".

Instead, emerging markets including India would likely follow the trends in the US market to a certain extent, he noted.