Indian Stock Market Ends Lower Amid Elevated Crude Oil Prices

The Indian stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Friday after two days of gains, dragged down by bank and financial stocks, as well as elevated crude oil prices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 455.59 points, or 0.58 per cent, to settle at 78,499.17, while the 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 65.35 points, or 0.27 per cent, to end at 24,570.65.

The decline was led by Bajaj Finance, which tanked 5.90 per cent, and Bajaj Finserv, down 4.18 per cent. ICICI Bank, Trent, Axis Bank, and Asian Paints were also among the laggards.

Tata Consultancy Services, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, and Tech Mahindra were among the winners. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.35 per cent to $82.20 per barrel.