Sensex, Nifty Slump as Crude Oil Prices Rise

Indian equity benchmarks opened lower on Friday due to weakness in financial stocks and higher crude oil prices. The Sensex fell 235.36 points to 78,699.80, while the NSE Nifty slipped 24.30 points to 24,608.25.

Among Sensex constituents, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Trent, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Eternal were among the laggards. In contrast, information technology stocks provided some support with Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, and Infosys trading higher.

Crude oil prices remained a concern for investors, with Brent crude rising 1.16% to $83.45 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Indian equities on Thursday, offloading shares worth Rs 17.86 crore.