India share markets witnessed selling pressure today after Pakistan claimed that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has violated the Line of Control (LoC), following which the former scrambled immediately. Pakistan's claim comes in the wake of tense relations between the two countries in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 241 points (down 0.7%) and the NSE Nifty closed down by 48 points (down 0.4%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down 0.3%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down 0.5%.

Sectoral indices ended in the red with stocks in the realty sector and banking sector witnessing most of the selling pressure.

The rupee was trading at 71.05 against the US$.

Asian stock markets finished on a negative note. As of the most recent closing prices, the Hang Seng was down by 0.6% and the Shanghai Composite was down by 0.7%. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.4%.

Thermax share price was in focus today as the company stated it has entered into definitive agreement to acquire a stake in joint venture company.

As per the news, the company has entered into definitive agreement with Mutares Holding-24 AG, Germany, and Balcke-Duerr GmbH, Germany, JV partners of Thermax SPX Energy Technologies (TSPX) to acquire their shareholding in the TSPX - a JV and subsidiary company in India.

Post-transfer of shares TSPX will become the wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

The stock of the company witnessed buying interest in today's session on the back of the above news.

Speaking of stake acquisition, joint ventures and foreign players investing in India note that many private equity funds have joined hands to increase their controlling stakes in Indian investments lately.

Here are some examples...

• A joint venture between Brookfield Asset Management Inc. and State Bank of India for distressed assets.
• The acquisition of a stake in Mankind Pharma by ChrysCapital, GIC and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
• Resurgent Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd, a platform created by Tata Power and ICICI Venture, raising capital from Kuwait Investment Authority and State General Reserve Fund of Oman.

India Focused Global Funds Raising Top Dollar

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee, co-head of Research at Equitymaster, wrote about this in one of the recent editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• Enticed by their long-term prospects, these funds are losing no time to enhance stake in their Indian investments.
  
  And this is possibly just the start.
  
  According to OECD, the 20 largest pension funds together hold about 43.2% of total global pension assets. Even if India receives a 5% allocation, it will mean a boom in the stock market.
  
  In last three years, these funds have consolidated because of stronger growth among the bigger pension players.
  
  These players are likely to focus on countries offering strong returns apart from relative safety, like India.

In the news from the commodity space, crude oil witnessed buying interest today.

Gains were seen after US President Donald Trump called on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to ease its efforts to boost the markets with supply cuts.

In the news from the IPO space, as per a leading financial daily, state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) may look at listing its life insurance arm - PNB Metlife - next financial year.

As per the news, the lender is currently in the process of selling its 4% of the 30% stake in PNB Metlife to discover price.

The insurance company has been talking about an IPO since 2016 and the issue is necessitated by the American financial services major and its partner Metlife Inc's plans to exit the company.

We will keep you updated on all the developments from this space. Stay tuned.

Also, speaking of IPOs, 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.