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Indian Indices Continue Downtrend, LIC IPO Updates, and Top Stocks in Action Today
Wed, 19 Feb Pre-Open

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On Tuesday, Indian share markets witnessed selling pressure throughout the day and ended lower.

Benchmark indices fell for the fourth-successive session tracking disappointing quarterly earnings season and threats of disruptions in business due to the coronavirus epidemic in China.

The BSE Sensex closed lower by 161 points to end the day at 40,894. IndusInd Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the top losers.

While the broader NSE Nifty ended down by 53 points to end at 11,993.

Among BSE sectoral indices, telecom stocks fell the most, followed by metal stocks and automobile stocks.

Top Stocks in Action Today

JSW Energy share price will be in focus today as the company has signed a Share Purchase Agreement with GMR Energy (GEL), pursuant to which the company shall acquire 100% stake in GMR Kamalanga Energy (GKEL), for a total consideration of an amount up to Rs 53.2 billion.

Tech Mahindra share price will also be in focus today as the company has collaborated with Virsec, a US based cyber security company delivering a radically new approach to protect against advanced targeted attacks.

The organizations are working to provide first-of-its-kind cyber security solutions to protect applications from the inside at the memory level in real-time. Virsec and Tech Mahindra will be showcasing these joint solutions at the RSA Security Conference 2020, February 24-27, in San Francisco.

Market participants will also track Reliance Industries share price. The company is consolidating its all media and distribution businesses spread across multiple entities into Network18 Media & Investments.

Under the scheme of arrangement, TV18 Broadcast, Hathway Cable, and Den Networks will merge into Network18 Media & Investments, which will be an integrated media and distribution company.

From the IPO Space...

The Insurance Regulation and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is yet to get any proposal from life insurance behemoth LIC on an initial public offering but feels a listing is better from a governance perspective, chairman S C Khuntia said on Tuesday.

He also said that there is nothing for the life insurance industry to worry for the time being with regard to government's move on certain income tax exemptions as the alternative to invest still exists.

On the IPO of Life Insurance Corporation of India announced in the budget, he said, "LIC proposal has not yet come".

On being asked if LIC's business will need any restructuring before IPO, Khuntia said that work on the same is being carried out by the government.

Developments in the Automobile Sector

As per a leading financial daily, India's tyre industry is worried over the continuing shortage of natural rubber in the market at a time when the automobile sector is showing signs of revival.

As per the news, the Rubber Board had estimated a 10% year-on-year (YoY) increase in natural rubber production in the eight months to November 2019.

If the stock has not reached the market, it means the growers are holding it, industry insiders said.

But Josch Joseph, secretary at Consortium of Indian Rubber Growers Association, disagreed. As per him, the growers do not have the capacity to hold for a long time.

Joseph said delays in payment of arrears under the Kerala government's price incentive scheme seems to have discouraged small growers from going for tapping.

The shortage is expected to get worse as the tapping season in the main producing state of Kerala is coming to a close. Rubber yield has already started falling with an increase in temperature, pushing prices up.

Note that since December, the tyre industry has been importing more rubber to bridge the demand-supply gap, which they expect to widen further in the coming days with the revival in the automobile sector.

How this development pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the news from this space.

Speaking of auto sector, Tanushree Banerjee is counting on two listed automobile companies from the Indian market. The Rebirth of India stocks she has identified, are set to leave their mark on the global EV revolution.

These stocks may not have the 4x vertical ride like Tesla within a few months.

But for patient investors, these are the stocks which will soar like Tesla, more gradually.

As per Tanushree, now is the right time to buy these stocks to profit from the Rebirth of India. You can read about them here.

From the Commodity Space...

Crude oil witnessed selling pressure yesterday. Prices fell below US$ 57 a barrel amid lingering concerns over the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak in China and its effect on oil demand, tracking losses in financial markets.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week the virus was set to cause oil demand to fall by 435,000 barrels per day (bpd) year-on-year in the first quarter, in what would be the first quarterly drop since the financial crisis in 2009.

However, with some Chinese independent refineries snapping up crude supplies after being absent from the market for weeks, markets held out hopes that China's demand could recover in coming months.

Market participants are also anticipating that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, will approve a proposal to deepen production cuts to tighten global supplies and support prices.

We will keep you updated on how these developments pan out in the coming days. Stay tuned.

Speaking of crude oil, where do you think are oil prices headed? And what does it mean for the Indian markets?

Well, India's no.1 trader, Vijay Bhambwani shares his insights and updates on his YouTube channel regularly.

In one of his videos, he talks about how you can hedge against the rising crude oil prices and also gives a perspective as to what's actually happening in this space.

Tune in to find out more...

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Read the latest Market Commentary


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