Radhika Gupta says action ‘more expensive’ in volatile market conditions: 'Those who have kept away from FOMO...'

Edelweiss Mutual Fund chief Radhika Gupta shared a simple rule of thumb for investors to follow during volatile market situations — do nothing.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) late on Monday, Radhika Gupta said that investors who take action during market volatility can find it “more expensive” while those who keep calm “will do well”.

“The moves across equities, debt and commodities over the last month have been a real test of patience and the ability to stay calm in a storm. Those who have kept away from FOMO — positive and negative, watched a little less news, and stuck to their allocations will do well. Action is more expensive than we imagine,” she stated.

The statement came as the markets took a beating immediately after the Budget 2026 announcement, where Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Securities Transaction Tax on futures contracts will be raised to 0.05% from 0.02%. While STT on options premiums and exercise of options are proposed to be raised to 0.15% from 0.1% and 0.125%, respectively.

India-US trade deal: Markets leap into action, rejoice

Notably, hours later during market open today, Nifty 50 touched an intraday high of 26,341, and the BSE Sensex touched an intraday high of 85,871. Within the first 15 minutes of trade, the rally translated into a wealth expansion of roughly ₹13 lakh crore for investors. The total market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE vaulted to ₹468.32 lakh crore, reflecting the intensity and breadth of buying across sectors.

Experts noted that the market jump was due to confirmation of the India-United States trade deal, which removed uncertainty for investors and sparked optimism.

Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran feels that the lowering of the reciprocal tariff to 18% by US President Donald Trump removes “the biggest stumbling block” for foreign capital inflows into the country and allows India to bring the “China + 1 strategy back in the game”.

Since August 2025, FPIs have withdrawn around $12 billion net from the Indian stock markets. Notably, with additional context on the recent India-EU trade agreement, India now has two of the biggest trading partners locked on deals.

India-US trade deal: What did Donald Trump announce?

• Months after the US imposed combined 50% tariffs on India (a 25% reciprocal tariff and a 25% “punishment” tariff for buying Russian oil), Trump said the duty would be reduced to 18%.
• In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Prime Minister Narendra Modi one of his “greatest friends”, adding that India has “agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela”.
• Trump claimed that India will stop buying Russian oil, reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the US to zero, and commit to ‘Buy American’ and to $500 billion of US agricultural, coal, energy and technology products.
• However, while Modi announced on X that the US has cut tariffs on Indian products to 18%, he did not share any details of the deal.