Sensex Falls 252 Points, Nifty Slips as Crude Oil Tops $106

Indian equity markets ended lower on Wednesday as investors booked profits after the previous session’s sharp recovery. Rising crude oil prices amid geopolitical supply concerns and continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows also dampened sentiment.

The Nifty 50 fell 99.25 points, or 0.44 per cent, to close at 22,622.70, while the BSE Sensex declined 251.89 points, or 0.34 per cent, to settle at 72,781.89.

Vikram Kasat, Chief Business Officer – Advisory and Dealing at PL Capital, said the market decline reflected profit booking following Tuesday’s strong rebound.

"Rising crude prices amid geopolitical supply concerns and sustained FII selling are weighing on sentiment, raising concerns over imported inflation, rupee stability and corporate margins," he said.

Kasat added that the outlook for equities would depend on earnings visibility, crude oil price movements and foreign fund flows. He advised investors to focus on fundamentally strong companies, remain disciplined and avoid chasing short-term market rebounds.

Trading across sectoral indices on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) remained mixed. Nifty Pharma led the losses, falling 1.47 per cent, followed by Nifty Auto, down 0.94 per cent, and Nifty Realty, which slipped 0.87 per cent. Nifty Metal declined 0.67 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank dropped 0.34 per cent.

Among the gainers, Nifty IT advanced 1.25 per cent and Nifty FMCG rose 0.94 per cent. Nifty Media added 0.59 per cent, while Nifty PSU Bank edged up 0.14 per cent.

Nestle India, Infosys, Tata Consumer Products, Coal India, Tech Mahindra and TCS featured among the top gainers in the Nifty 50. Shriram Finance, HDFC Life, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Dr Reddy's, SBI Life and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major laggards.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee extended its recovery for a fourth consecutive session, touching around 94.8 against the US dollar on Wednesday. The currency has recovered close to 2 per cent since Friday, according to Rajeev Sharan, Head of Research at Brickwork Ratings.

"The RBI governor called the market's pessimism about India overdone and pointed to heavy speculation in currency derivatives, promising to do whatever it takes," Sharan said.

He said the rupee’s defence would depend on the credibility of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and its reserves. However, he cautioned that crude oil prices and foreign fund flows would remain key factors influencing the currency’s recovery.

"With Brent near USD 106, the governor's credibility is now the real rate to watch," he said.

Brent crude rose 0.30 per cent to USD 106 per barrel at the time of reporting, keeping concerns about imported inflation and higher corporate costs in focus.

In the commodities market, 24-karat gold prices fell 0.42 per cent to Rs 1,47,825 per 10 grams. Silver prices also declined 0.90 per cent to Rs 2,17,227 per kg at the time of reporting.

Asian markets mostly closed lower on Wednesday, with Taiwan’s Weighted Index the only gainer among the indices cited. It rose 0.59 per cent to finish at 48,625.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.06 per cent to 67,735, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 0.13 per cent to close at 5,423. South Korea’s KOSPI declined 0.44 per cent to 6,008, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 0.21 per cent to settle at 24,294.