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Sensex Slumps Over 290 Points; Realty and PSU Stocks Witness Selling
Tue, 18 Sep Closing

After opening the day on a negative note, share markets in India continued their downtrend throughout the day and ended in red. Sectoral indices traded in red, with stocks in the realty sector, power sector and PSU sector leading the losses.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 295 points (down 0.8%) and the NSE Nifty closed down by 99 points (down 0.9 %). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down 1.4%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down 1.6%.

The rupee was trading at Rs 72.46 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

Asian stock markets finished on a mixed note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down by 1.3% and the Shanghai Composite was down by 1.1%. The Nikkei 225 was up by 1.2%. Meanwhile, European markets were trading on a negative note. The FTSE 100 was down by 0.2%. The DAX was down by 0.5%, while the CAC 40 was down by 0.3%

In the news from the global financial markets, President Donald Trump on Monday effectively broadsided one of the world's largest trade relationships, announcing plans to proceed with tariffs on another US$ 200 billion in US imports of Chinese goods.

Taken with the US$ 50 billion in tariffs already in place, this means roughly half of everything Americans buy from China - their largest source for imports - is now subject to punitive import duties.

Whole industrial sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, textiles and retail, stand to feel the effects of the above development.

Meanwhile, China, which is America's third-largest export market, has vowed to counter-attack with plans to slap tariffs on another US$ 60 billion in US exports, meaning about 80% of US exports to China would be subject to retaliation.

If China slaps tariffs on another US$ 60 billion in US goods, this will bring total US exports subject to Beijing's retaliation to US$ 110 billion, at 2017 sales levels.

How this trade war pans out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated from all the developments from this space.

In the news from macroeconomic space, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate states that the real effective depreciation of the Indian rupee as compared to December 2017 is between 6-7%.

IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said that since the beginning of the year, Indian rupee has lost about 11% of its value in nominal terms against the US dollar.

He, however, said the currencies of many of India's trading partners, including those in the emerging markets, too have depreciated against the dollar and as a result, so far this year the real effective depreciation of the Indian rupees compared to December 2017 is, by an estimates, between 6% and 7%.

He also stated that the depreciation will obviously raise the prices of imported goods such as oil and petroleum products, potentially putting an upward pressure on inflation.

Also, speaking of depreciating rupee, note that the Indian rupee is the worst performer in Asia in 2018. As can be seen from the chart below, it has fallen by around 12% against the US dollar this year.

Indian Rupee is the Worst Performing Currency in Asia


Here's what we wrote about the falling rupee and its repercussions in a recent edition of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

  • The rupee is under pressure due to a strong dollar and high oil prices. Similarly, the spill-over from the emerging-market turmoil in Argentina and Turkey is weighing on the rupee.

    The falling rupee is also triggering sales of bonds and stocks, which in turn is further pressuring the rupee.

    Nevertheless, last week, the government announced several measures. This includes cutting down non-necessary imports, removal of withholding tax on rupee-denominated bonds, and easing overseas borrowing norms.

    That said, in the near term, the rupee being under pressure could benefit export-oriented businesses.

Kunal Thanvi's recent Smart Money Secrets recommendation benefits from the rupee depreciation as the company derives around 65% of the revenue from exports. The icing on the cake is the company's focused entry into the B2C segment, which provides it a long runway for future growth.

If you're a Smart Money Secrets subscriber, read the detailed report here.

If not... you can get the report by signing up here.

Moving on to the news from the IPO space, the state-owned engineering and construction company IRCON International which opened its issue for subscription yesterday was subscribed around 48% by noon hours today.

The offer for sale (OFS) received bids for 48.15 lakh equity shares compared with the total issue of 9,905,157 shares.

The issue has received strong demand from retail investors whose reserved portion was subscribed around 1.4 times.

The issue has a price band of Rs 470-475 per share and the equity shares are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE. The public issue comprises an offer for sale of 9.9 million equity shares by its promoter, The President of India, acting through the Ministry of Railways, Government of India.

The net issue proceeds from the IPO will be utilised towards repayment of certain borrowings and for general corporate purposes.

IRCON International Limited is a Mini Ratna government company incorporated by Central Government (Ministry of Railways) under the Companies Act, 1956 on 28th April 1976. It is an integrated engineering and construction company specializing in major infrastructure projects, including railways, highways, bridges, flyovers, tunnels, aircraft maintenance hangars, runways, EHV sub-stations, electrical and mechanical works, commercial and residential properties, development of industrial areas, and other infrastructure activities.

To know more about the company, you can read our IPO analysis of IRCON International Ltd (requires subscription).

Also, with so many IPOs set to hit the markets, we at Equitymaster believe a merit-based selection, primarily including valuation, business, and management quality, is the logical way to go about investing in IPOs. If it means going against the herd, so be it. And going by recent past, this strategy has been proven to be successful more often.

To know how to safely profit from the ongoing IPO rush, download this FREE report now and discover How to Get Rich with IPOs.

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

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