India's Equities Extend Losing Streak Amid Crude Price Volatility

Indian equities ended the week marginally lower, extending their losing streak to six weeks. High crude oil prices weighed on sentiment early in the week but a pullback in oil prices and value buying by domestic institutional investors helped markets recover from mid-week through Friday.

The Nifty 50 fell 0.2% to 23,346.40, while the Sensex declined 0.6% to 74,294.96. WTI crude retreated to around $96 a barrel from a weekly high of $105 as expectations grew that alternative routes could help mitigate supply disruptions in West Asia.

However, weakness in select Tata Group stocks amid an ongoing boardroom rift at Tata Sons continued to weigh on sentiment. Consumer durables were the biggest sectoral laggard, falling nearly 3%, while telecom stocks declined 2%.

Karan Aggarwal, co-founder and chief investing officer at Ametra PMS, warned that a similar oil price shock could trigger a sharp market correction, particularly in mid- and smallcaps. The 2022 oil spike had eroded profit margins by 200-300 basis points, he noted.