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Listless Gains for Indian Indices
Wed, 28 Sep 11:30 am

After opening the day marginally higher, the Indian indices have continued to trade near the dotted line. Sectoral indices are trading on a mixed note with stocks from the information technology (IT) and energy sector witnessing maximum selling pressure. Telecom, metal and auto stocks are, however, trading in the green.

The BSE Sensex is trading up 15 points (up 0.1%) and the NSE Nifty is trading up by 12 points (up 0.1%). The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading in the green, both up by 0.7%. The rupee is trading at 66.45 to the US$.

As per a leading financial daily, a study conducted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated air pollution could have killed at least 6,00,000 Indians in 2012. Of the 3 million who died worldwide due to air pollution, around one fifth were Indians.

The study also stated that India comes second among all countries in the absolute number of deaths caused due to exposure of air pollution. The first is China which witnessed an estimated 8,00,000 deaths in 2012.

But why do we bring the topic of air pollution up today? It is because, apart from posing risk to lives, air pollution is also responsible for more than US$5.11 trillion in welfare losses each year. This is also something we wrote in one of our recent editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp titled How 8.5% of India's GDP Vanished into Thin Air. Here's a snippet-

  • At US$505.1 billion (in terms of 2011 US dollars, adjusted for purchasing power parity), India lost 7.69% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013 on account of total welfare losses. Add to that the 0.84% loss in labour output in 2013 owing to air pollution. Do the math. How much did air pollution cost India? 8.5% of GDP!

The above calculation has the potential to turn even worse. Just imagine how air pollution could impact the country's GDP if productivity continues to suffer because of its health hazards. Hence, the issue of air pollution needs to be treated with importance.

However, what one shall also remember is that the issue of air pollution is just one of the big challenges facing India. There are many more. And they have the potential to disrupt our jobs, wealth, and personal lives.

To stay on top of big macro trends in India - the government's handling of oil prices, the mess in public sector banks, the current state of India's real estate bubble...and a lot more, we recommend you to read the Vivek Kaul Letter (subscription required).

In fact, Vivek has just come up with a video that details all...including how these macro trends could impact you. Click here to watch the whole 58-minute video.

Moving on to the news from the commodity space... Crude oil is witnessing buying interest today. This is seen as industry data showed a surprise draw in US crude stocks.

However, concerns over a lack of agreement among producers to curb output levels limited the gains. The Saudi Arabia energy minister recently said an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) deal on output cut is unlikely this week. However, it was reported that there could be an agreement in November. The OPEC members are going to hold informal talks later today.

This uptrend is followed by gains seen during the last week. During the last week, crude oil prices jumped after the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) surprised the market with a 6.2-million-barrel fall in crude oil inventories. Further, import data from Japan stated the country's custom-cleared crude imports rose 0.5% in August on a YoY basis. This fuelled optimism regarding the demand for crude oil and helped it trade on a positive note.

With these triggers, does it make sense to bet on crude oil? Are crude oil companies a good long-term investment? One of the editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp says This Could Be the Biggest Buying Opportunity Out There.

To keep a tab on the movements in crude oil and other commodities, you can read weekly market commentary from the Daily Profit Hunter team. Their weekly commentary tracks the developments in the global economy as well as stock, currency and commodity markets.

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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