After opening the day on a negative note, share markets in India continued their downtrend throughout the day and ended the day in the red. All sectoral indices traded in the red, with stocks in the consumer durables sector, banking sector and FMCG sector leading the losses.

At the closing bell, the BSE Sensex stood lower by 505 points (down 1.3%) and the NSE Nifty closed down by 137 points (down 1.2%). The BSE Mid Cap index ended the day down 0.8%, while the BSE Small Cap index ended the day down 0.1%.

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%

The Indian rupee witnessed selling pressure against the dollar today. Losses were seen despite an array of steps announced by the government on Friday to contain the widening current account deficit (CAD) and keep the rupee's fall in check.

The rupee has been falling lately on the back of many factors such as rising current account deficit, rising global crude oil prices, and tepid export growth.

What does the fall in rupee mean for the Indian economy?

A depreciation in rupee means importers buying goods and services at a higher rate than earlier. This doesn't bode well for a developing economy that relies heavily on imports.

Also, India imports most of its oil requirements. So, a fall in rupee leads to a consequent rise in the import bill. The depreciation of the rupee will also add to crude oil's rising cost.

On the corporate side, companies who have taken foreign loans from abroad will be impacted. The repayment obligations in terms of principal and interest will rise, leading to a dent in the cash flows and financials.

Further, companies who import a majority of their raw material requirements will get impacted provided they have not hedged their foreign currency exposure.

Looking at the brighter side, rupee depreciation brings a cheer on the exports front.

A depreciating rupee will provide a much-needed cushion to falling exports. However, a falling rupee will not be the only factor to boost exports. There are certain structural issues too which the government needs to address.

From global financial markets, as per a leading financial daily, a senior US administration official over the weekend told that the US was about to announce a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports.

The news led to worries in Asian financial markets such as Hing Kong, China, Korea, and Taiwan which fell up to 1.5%.

Taking cues from the above developments, Indian share markets too witnessed selling pressure and plunged around 1.3% today.

Speaking of falling markets, cratering currencies, rising oil prices and rising interest rates are all weighing on the Indian stock markets. And global investors couldn't have asked for more excuses to pull their money out of the so-called fragile emerging markets which India is a part of.

But if investors were to rank countries based on their debt levels or even the level of forex debt, India would literally appear to be the safest haven.

Have a look at the chart below. Unlike China and Brazil, India's debt to GDP has hardly gone up in the past decade. And it's amongst the least exposed to forex debt.

What this tells us that while the correction is imminent, India may be the first amongst emerging markets to see a sharp recovery too.

The Worst Amongst Fragile Emerging Markets

Moving on to the news from the IPO space, the state-owned engineering and construction company IRCON International which opened its issue for subscription today was subscribed around 13% till noon hours today.

As per the data, the issue received bids for over 13,36,620 shares against its issue size and its retail quota was subscribed 43%.

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 utilized 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.