Indian Equity Indices Fall as Crude Oil Prices Weigh on Markets

The Indian equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell on Wednesday due to rising crude oil prices. The BSE benchmark Sensex dropped 35.99 points to 78,097.31 in early trade, while the 50-share NSE Nifty skidded 31.15 points to 24,444.55.

Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Titan and Bajaj Finance were among the major laggards in the Sensex pack. State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank and Asian Paints, on the other hand, were among the winners.

The global oil benchmark Brent crude traded 1.24 per cent higher at USD 90.01 per barrel. Analyst VK Vijayakumar from Geojit Investments Limited pointed out that strengthening Brent crude is a major factor restraining a rally in the market.