India's key indices S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 settled lower on Thursday amid rising crude oil prices triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war.Sensex settled 0.7 per cent or 366 points down at 55,103 points, whereas Nifty 0.7 per cent or 108 points down at 16,498 points.Among stocks, Ultratech Cement, Asian Paints, HDFC Life, Shree Cements, and Eicher Motors were the top five losers among the Nifty 50 companies, down 6.7 per cent, 5.2 per cent, 5.0 per cent, 4.5 per cent, and 3.5 per cent, respectively.ONGC, UPL, Power Grid Corporation of India, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra, on the other hand, were the top five gainers.
On the sectoral indices front, Nifty auto, bank, financial services, and FMCG were the top losers, NSE data showed."The subdued trend of the domestic market continued however the level of volatility is reducing. Today large caps were more muted, dragged by FIIs selling, compared to the broad market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services."The release of strategic reserves of oil in India and abroad along with increased output from OPEC is expected to ease crude prices in the future. Additionally, the Indian market will look at the state election exit poll data while the global market on war developments, BoE, and Fed policy meeting status from next week."