India-US trade deal: Ashish Kacholia sees 'officially' end of smallcap bear market
Trump tariffs: Ashish Kacholia owned more than 1 per cent stake in 49 stocks, as per latest shareholding data, with a net worth of over Rs 2,374.1 crore.
- Feb 3, 2026,
- Updated Feb 3, 2026 7:46 AM IST
India-US trade deal: Ashish Kacholia sees end of smallcap bear market
As the India-US agree to trade deal, potentially cutting Indian export tariffs to US to 18 per cent from 50 per cent earlier, market veteran Ashish Kacholia said the only problem with market is that the biggest buying opportunity comes when investors all are frozen with fear. Kacholia said it seems that the bear market in small caps has officially ended with Donald Trump’s social media post signing trade deal with India.
Known as 'whiz-kid' of stock markets, Kacholia owned more than 1 per cent stake in 49 stocks, as per latest shareholding data, with a net worth of over Rs 2,374.1 crore, data available with Trendlyne suggested.
Ashish Kacholia is the founder of Lucky Investment Managers and a proprietary investor in the Indian equity markets. He began his career at Prime Securities and later had a brief stint at Edelweiss Capital, before going on to establish Lucky.
Kacholia's comments came as US President Donald Trump overnight announced India-US trade deal that reduces tariffs on US imports from India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent earlier, improving India’s competitiveness. The announcement by Trump on a social media platform sent Gift Nifty soaring over 800 points to hit a high of 25,962.50. At 7.30 am IST, Gift Nifty was still trading 648 points, or 2.58 per cent, higher at 25,784.
To his post, Vikas Khemani of Carnelian Asset Management said: " Kacho, 2022 was very similar. Ukraine war created the same situation like tariff. Small cap index was negative 6-7%. 2023 was best year for SMIDs. Just saying."
Trideep Bhattacharya President and CIO Equities at Edelweiss MF said the reduction in tariffs has come in materially better than consensus expectations. When combined with the recently concluded India–EU trade agreement, this potentially represents one of the strongest external growth stimuli for the Indian economy in 2026, he said.
"From a sectoral lens, export-oriented segments such as IT services, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, auto ancillaries, and select engineering goods stand to benefit the most. Lower tariff barriers improve price competitiveness for Indian firms in the US market, which remains India’s largest export destination," said Sonam Srivastava, Founder and Fund Manager at Wright Research PMS.
Over time, Srivastava said this could translate into better order inflows, margin stability, and higher capacity utilization. Domestic manufacturing themes tied to global supply chain diversification also get reinforced, she said.
India-US trade deal: Ashish Kacholia sees end of smallcap bear market
As the India-US agree to trade deal, potentially cutting Indian export tariffs to US to 18 per cent from 50 per cent earlier, market veteran Ashish Kacholia said the only problem with market is that the biggest buying opportunity comes when investors all are frozen with fear. Kacholia said it seems that the bear market in small caps has officially ended with Donald Trump’s social media post signing trade deal with India.
Known as 'whiz-kid' of stock markets, Kacholia owned more than 1 per cent stake in 49 stocks, as per latest shareholding data, with a net worth of over Rs 2,374.1 crore, data available with Trendlyne suggested.
Ashish Kacholia is the founder of Lucky Investment Managers and a proprietary investor in the Indian equity markets. He began his career at Prime Securities and later had a brief stint at Edelweiss Capital, before going on to establish Lucky.
Kacholia's comments came as US President Donald Trump overnight announced India-US trade deal that reduces tariffs on US imports from India to 18 per cent from 50 per cent earlier, improving India’s competitiveness. The announcement by Trump on a social media platform sent Gift Nifty soaring over 800 points to hit a high of 25,962.50. At 7.30 am IST, Gift Nifty was still trading 648 points, or 2.58 per cent, higher at 25,784.
To his post, Vikas Khemani of Carnelian Asset Management said: " Kacho, 2022 was very similar. Ukraine war created the same situation like tariff. Small cap index was negative 6-7%. 2023 was best year for SMIDs. Just saying."
Trideep Bhattacharya President and CIO Equities at Edelweiss MF said the reduction in tariffs has come in materially better than consensus expectations. When combined with the recently concluded India–EU trade agreement, this potentially represents one of the strongest external growth stimuli for the Indian economy in 2026, he said.
"From a sectoral lens, export-oriented segments such as IT services, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, auto ancillaries, and select engineering goods stand to benefit the most. Lower tariff barriers improve price competitiveness for Indian firms in the US market, which remains India’s largest export destination," said Sonam Srivastava, Founder and Fund Manager at Wright Research PMS.
Over time, Srivastava said this could translate into better order inflows, margin stability, and higher capacity utilization. Domestic manufacturing themes tied to global supply chain diversification also get reinforced, she said.