Share markets in India are presently trading on a positive note. All sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the consumer durable sector, banking sector and finance sector witnessing maximum buying interest.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 316 points (up 0.9%), while the NSE Nifty is trading up by 95 points (up 0.9%). The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap index are trading up by 0.8%.

The rupee is trading at 70.02 against the US$.

The rupee rose by 35 paise to 70.00 against the US$ in early trade aided by foreign fund inflows amid a weak dollar globally and sharp fall in crude oil prices.

The US dollar fell against major global currencies as investors turned their focus to safe-haven currencies amid renewed worries over US-China trade tensions and global economic growth.

In the last few sessions, the rupee has been strengthening against the US$. Last week, dollar came under pressure after the Federal Reserve in its policy statement mentioned that rate hike in the coming year could be restricted to two compared to earlier estimates of three rate hikes next year.

In the news from the commodity space, after falling in the previous session, oil prices jumped as much as 3% but growth in US crude stockpiles and ongoing concerns about the global economy kept markets under pressure.

On Thursday, crude oil declined by 4.24% to US$ 52.16 per barrel after reports of an increase in US inventories. Oil prices fell to their lowest in more than a year on Thursday, a day after their biggest one-day rally in two years, pulled down by worries about the global economy and a supply glut.

Reportedly, US crude inventories rose by 6.9 million barrels to 448.2 million barrels on increased refinery output.

The United States has emerged as the world's biggest crude producer, pumping 11.6 million barrels per day (bpd), more than both Saudi Arabia and Russia.

On Thursday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that rising protectionism and the unpredictability of the US administration had greatly contributed to global oil price volatility over the past two years. Novak also said Russia would cut its crude output by between 3 and 5 million tonnes in the first half of 2019 as part of a deal between producers

Earlier this month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies including Russia, agreed to curb output by 1.2 million bpd starting in January in a bid to clear a supply overhang and prop up prices.

Oil prices have been pulled down sharply since October by signs of an economic slowdown. Meanwhile, the two world's biggest economies, the United States and China, are locked in a trade war which is threatening to slow global growth and battering investor sentiment.

Speaking of crude oil, India's crude oil production was lower by 4.2% in September 2018 as compared to last year.

India's Increasing Crude Oil Demand-Supply Gap

The worrying factor is this was the lowest production this year.

Here's what Tanushree Banerjee wrote about it in one of the editions of The 5 Minute WrapUp...

• Comparing domestic production with the crude oil processed by refineries gives an idea of the demand-supply gap. Low domestic production as compared to the demand for crude oil places a huge burden on India's import bill.
  
  Rising crude oil prices could have severe implications. Rising inflation. Rising interest rates. Pressure on the government to cut excise duty, thereby impacting its revenues.
  
  We have seen some of this play out. With elections around the corner, expect a lot of subsidies on fuel prices. This is bound to worsen India's fiscal deficit further.

It would be interesting to see how this pans out. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on all the developments from this space.

Moving on to the news from the IPO space, Antony Waste Handling Cell has filed draft papers with the markets regulator to float an initial share-sale.

The initial public offering (IPO) comprises fresh issue of equity shares aggregating up to Rs 435 million and an offer-for-sale of up to 94,42,164 stocks by the existing shareholders, according to the draft papers.

Proceeds of the issue will be utilized towards reduction of the aggregate outstanding borrowings of the company on a consolidated basis, and for general corporate purposes.

Speaking of IPO's, according to an article in The Economic Times, Indian stock exchanges ranked second globally in terms of IPOs, raising US$ 5.52 billion from 161 offerings till November this year. The US ranked first, raising US$ 60 billion from 261 IPOs.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

• According to the report, the drop in IPOs could be attributed to reasons such as significant corrections in the stock markets in mid-cap and small-cap stocks.
  
  Further, the amount of volatility has increased due to uncertainties around global growth compounded by the ongoing US-China trade wars.
  
  In addition, there are a number of macroeconomic factors which are contributing uncertainties such as liquidity crises among non-bank lenders in India triggered by defaults done by a leading infrastructure finance company IL&FS and currency volatility (depreciation of the rupee), the report added.

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.