New Delhi, April 3 -- While Asian markets were in full-blown chaos after US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs, effectively declaring a trade war with over 180 countries, Indian equities showed relative resilience.

Earlier this morning, Gift Nifty futures took a hit, dropping nearly 2%, while Indian benchmark indices Nifty 50 and S&P BSE Sensex fell 1% in pre-open trade. However, by 10.30 am, Nifty 50 and Sensex trimmed some losses and were down 0.2% each.

In comparison, Japan's Nikkei 225 plunged 3.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped nearly 2%, and South Korea's Kospi dropped 1%.

Madhavi Arora, lead economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, believes Asia peers had taken a harder hit from tariffs than India, partly b...