India's banking index hits a record high, highlighting its safe-haven properties amid a wave of tariffs.

Due to the limited impact of Trump's tariff policies on the Indian banking sector, the attribute of "safe haven investment" has been highlighted, with investors continuing to have a positive outlook on the sector, pushing the Indian bank stock index to a historic high. On Monday, the National Stock Exchange Nifty Bank Index rose by as much as 1.9% during trading, surpassing the previous historic high set in September. Since the announcement of equivalent tariffs by the US on April 2nd, the index has risen by over 7%, outperforming the benchmark Nifty 50 index of the National Stock Exchange of India, which has only seen a slight increase of over 3% during the same period. Analysts point out that due to the limited international trade participation of Indian domestic companies, the Indian banking sector is relatively less impacted by global trade tensions. The fundamentals of most banks also remain strong. Sandeep Sabharwal, founder of the Mumbai research firm Asksandipsabharwal.com, stated, "The overall outlook for bank stocks is optimistic." He added that with the easing of monetary policy and improving liquidity, most banks not only have a considerable capital adequacy ratio, but also have sufficient provisions, leading to a positive growth outlook. Over the weekend, India's two major banks - HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank - reported better-than-expected financial results, pushing their stock prices to new highs. The brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. raised its profit forecast for HDFC Bank for the fiscal year 2026 by 3%, and also raised the target price for ICICI Bank by 3% to 1650 rupees per share. India's third-largest private bank, Axis Bank, will announce its financial results on Thursday. Currently, the implied volatility spread between the Nifty Bank Index and the Nifty 50 Index has fallen back to the levels seen in early April, indicating that traders are more optimistic about the future of bank stocks compared to the overall market. By the close of trading on Thursday, the highest number of open contracts were for call options with a strike price of 55,000 rupees expiring in April, suggesting that the bank stock index may continue to rise.