Indian equity markets continued to trade lacklustre in late afternoon session dragged by banking and tech stocks. Besides, traders took a cautious approach ahead of Q1 earnings release of market heavy weights -- Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, JSW Steel and ICICI Bank. Further, recent fund outflows by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) weighed on trading sentiment. FIIs were the net sellers in equity segment in yesterday’s trade with net selling of Rs 3,670.86 crore. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mostly in green tracking positive clues from Wall Street overnight. European equity markets were trading higher as robust U.S. economic data and encouraging tech earnings helped ease tariff-related concerns for now.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 81815.27, down by 443.97 points or 0.54% after trading in a range of 81608.13 and 82334.75. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.46%, while Small cap index was down by 0.57%.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.27% and Realty up by 0.08%, while Capital Goods down by 1.17%, Bankex down by 1.16%, Industrials down by 0.90%, Telecom down by 0.87%, Consumer Durables down by 0.70% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finance up by 1.78%, Tata Steel up by 1.31%, Bajaj Finserv up by 0.56%, ICICI Bank up by 0.40% and Infosys up by 0.29%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.98%, Bharat Electronics down by 2.14%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40%, Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 1.31% and Tech Mahindra down by 1.17% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, handling concerns over India’s energy security posture amid global geopolitical disruptions such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and tensions in the Middle East, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that India had proactively expanded its crude import sources from 27 to 40 countries. He noted that this diversification is a key measure to ensure uninterrupted energy access during periods of global turbulence. 

On the topic of Russian oil imports, he said that Russia remains one of the world’s top oil producers with an output exceeding 9 million barrels per day. He warned that a sudden removal of this supply from the global market - out of a total of approximately 97 million barrels per day - would have created chaos, pushing prices to between $130-$200 per barrel. 

Besides, Puri stated that India has never purchased any sanctioned cargo and that Russian oil was not under global sanctions but only a price cap, carefully structured to reflect ground realities of the international energy supply chain. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for India’s proactive and balanced approach, which has made the country a net stabilising force in global energy markets.

On the domestic front, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister underlined the crucial role played by State governments in facilitating energy development projects. He called for mutual accountability and stronger Centre-State cooperation, adding that States that enable faster energy infrastructure should be celebrated as models of good governance.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 25004.60, down by 106.85 points or 0.43% after trading in a range of 24918.65 and 25144.60. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Wipro up by 2.44%, Bajaj Finance up by 1.99%, Tata Steel up by 1.26%, ONGC up by 1.22% and Nestle up by 0.88%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down by 4.91%, Shriram Finance down by 2.47%, Bharat Electronics down by 2.02%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.40% and HDFC Life Insurance down by 1.31% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in green; Hang Seng advanced 326.71 points or 1.32% to 24,825.66, Jakarta Composite gained 46.38 points or 0.63% to 7,333.40, Taiwan Weighted added 269.85 points or 1.15% to 23,383.13, Straits Times rose 23.81 points or 0.57% to 4,185.24 and Shanghai Composite strengthened 17.65 points or 0.5% to 3,534.48, while KOSPI dropped 4.22 points or 0.13% to 3,188.07 and Nikkei 225 slipped 82.08 points or 0.21% to 39,819.11.

European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 23.41 points or 0.26% to 8,996.05, France’s CAC rose 48.66 points or 0.62% to 7,870.66 and Germany’s DAX gained 93.8 points or 0.38% to 24,464.73.