Onion or stocks? Many BSE stocks are cheaper than onions

If thou hast not a capon, feed on an onion, says an English proverb. In India, with onion prices hitting Rs 75-80 a kg (even higher a few days ago), there are a very few places where this saying can hold. One such is the stock market, where a falling rupee has seen share prices tumbling. A significant majority of BSE listed stocks are now cheaper than a kilo of onions. Even in the BSE100, which comprises the cream of India Inc, a dozen shares are cheaper than a dozen pieces of onion.

The humble onion was sold between Rs 20-25 a kg a month month ago but has now crossed Rs 70-mark in Mumbai’s retail market.And the joke on Twitter is that the rise in onion prices has brought about parity between a kilo of onion and a bottle of beer.

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Across cities, onion prices are hovering between Rs 50 and Rs 80 a kilo, nearly double last month’s levels.

In fact, the staple commodity has even found mention in Parliament, when the Opposition demanding a discussion on the recent spike.

[caption id=“attachment_1046067” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption]

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Balbir Punj (BJP) had said yesterday, “In this government, files are going missing, onions are going missing from the market. The price of onions is more than petrol, milk or even beer.”

But he could have mentioned stocks as well.

Thanks to the bloodbath on Dalal Street, onions are more expensive than at least 12 BSE 100 stocks. Taking the retail price of onions at an average of Rs 75 per kilo, Firstpost found that stocks like Reliance Power, GMR Infrastructure and Adani Power are way cheaper than a kilo of onions.

Check out the list of stocks below:

1Adani Power, currently trading at Rs 35.45

2. Ashok Lelyland, just a mere Rs 12.77

3. GMR Infrastructure ( Just Rs 12.35)

4.Housing Development & Infrastructure Ltd ( trading at Rs 30)

5. IDBI Bank Ltd ( Trading at Rs 55)

6. Jaiprakash Associates Ltd ( Rs 30.55)

7. NHPC Ltd ( Rs 16.25)

8. Reliance Power Ltd ( Rs 68.5)

9. Steel Authority of India Ltd ( Rs 41.35)

10. Suzlon Energy Ltd ( Rs 6.5)

11. Tata Power

12. Unitech ( Rs 15.95)

And even if onion prices don’t touch Rs 100, more than half of the companies traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange are quoting below their book value, thanks to the sharp correction in most non-index stocks. A report in The Economic Times says more than 300 of the BSE-500 stocks have dropped over 40 percent from their peak levels and 125 of these scrips have lost more than 80 percent, close to their 2008 levels.

Today, the BSE Sensex has fallen 1 percent to hit 18,124 and the Nifty by 1.04 percent at 5,360. As the rupee is unlikely to see a bottom in the near future, dashing any hopes of a revival in the economy, you can expect more stocks to fall into this category soon.