Indian share markets continued to trade in the red during the closing hours of the trading session and ended the day on a negative note. Losses were largely seen in the energy sector and banking sector.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 224 points (down 0.6%) and the NSE Nifty closed lower by 74 points (down 0.7%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended lower by 0.7%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down by 0.8%.

Asian stock markets finished on a negative note as of the most recent closing prices. The Hang Seng stood down by 1.54% and the Nikkei was trading down by 2.02%.

European markets were also trading on a negative note. The FTSE 100 was down by 0.58%. The DAX was down by 0.70% while the CAC 40 was down by 0.23%.

The rupee was trading at 69.97 to the US$ at the time of writing.

From the banking space, Andhra Bank share price were witnessing selling pressure as the lender reported a loss of Rs 5.4 billion in June quarter against a profit of Rs 404 million a year ago.

Pharmaceuticals stocks were in focus today and were witnessing buying interest on the back of a fall in the Indian rupee.

As per the draft red herring prospectus filed by the company, the IPO is said to see the sale of up to 1,72,44,328 equity shares by existing shareholders as well as promoters.In the news from initial public offering (IPO) space, auto-components manufacturer Sansera Engineering has filed draft papers with capital markets regulator to float an initial public offering.

Speaking of IPOs, the stock market is gearing up for a burst of IPO activity over the coming months.

Also, according to EY India IPO Readiness Survey Report, globally, Indian exchanges recorded the highest IPO activity as the country saw 90 IPO launches that raised US$ 3.9 billion in the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, the amount raised by SME IPOs in 2017 stood at Rs 17.9 bn. This is more than three times the amount raised in 2016. The number of SME IPOs launched also doubled from 66 to 132. This is evident from the chart below:

SME IPO Boom in 2017

So how should one approach to IPOs? We 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.

In the news from commodity space, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) today forecast lower demand for its crude next year as rivals pump more.

As per the news, the OPEC said the world will need 32.05 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from its 15 members in 2019, down 130,000 bpd from last month's forecast.

As per OPEC, its oil output in July rose to 32.32 million bpd. This was above the demand forecast, despite a surprise cut in output by Saudi Arabia just weeks after OPEC and its allies had agreed to boost supplies.

Speaking of crude oil, note that global oil prices have climbed steadily this year, helped by rising demand. However, rising crude oil prices doesn't bode well for the Indian economy, as it not only affects fuel prices but also has many other repercussions on the macroeconomic level.

They can be a big worry for the Modi government as well as it has been a big beneficiary of lower crude oil prices.