Benchmarks have trimmed some losses in late afternoon session on account of value buying at lower level as markets made near 2% gap-down opening. Some support also came after foreign institutional investors bought securities worth Rs 672.09 crore on Friday. However, markets continued to trade below the neutral lines after ceasefire talks between US and Iran failed to reach an agreement over the weekend in Islamabad. Further, investors took a cautious approach as Brent crude oil prices spiked up to trade near $102.83 a barrel after US President Donald Trump said the US Navy would swiftly begin a blockade of ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz. 

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed, while European equity markets were trading lower after high energy prices reignited fears of inflation and interest-rate concerns. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 77017.65, down by 532.60 points or 0.69% after trading in a range of 75868.32 and 77063.41. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 stocks declining on the index.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Utilities up by 1.44%, Power up by 1.16%, Telecom up by 0.67%, Realty up by 0.10% and Capital Goods up by 0.04%, while Auto down by 1.80%, Oil & Gas down by 1.31%, Energy down by 1.29%, IT down by 1.15%, FMCG down by 1.06% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 2.23%, NTPC up by 1.54%, Axis Bank up by 0.95%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.40% and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries up by 0.28%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 4.31%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.70%, Reliance Industries down by 2.46%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.34% and TCS down by 1.88% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, in a move to strengthen short-term electricity availability amid global uncertainty, the Ministry of Power said India will postpone maintenance shutdowns at thermal power plants and operationalise additional capacity to ensure around 10,000 megawatt (MW) of extra supply during peak summer demand.  

Piyush Singh, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Power, said power plants must undergo an annual shutdown for maintenance and repair of wear-and-tear in the machinery, however this has been postponed to make available electricity to meet peak demand. He said this will help augment 10,000 MW of generation, which will more than compensate for the 8,000 MW of generating capacity lost because of disruption in liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies due to West Asia conflict.

Additionally, he said coal-based power plants that rely on imports are being fully operationalised and adequate coal stocks are being maintained at thermal stations to address near-term supply pressures. He said India's electricity infrastructure remains robust, well-diversified and adequately positioned to meet demand, and added that the country's installed capacity has surpassed 531 gigawatts. Non-fossil sources now account for more than 50 per cent of total capacity, backed by coal, hydro, nuclear and renewables.    

He further said 22,361 MW of electricity generation capacity will be added in the next three months. This includes 3,500 MW of thermal power capacity addition, 10,000 MW of solar, 2,400 MW of wind, 1,900 MW of battery storage, 3,461 MW of hybrid (solar and wind), 750 MW of hydro and 250 MW of pumped storage projects. He said a strong transmission backbone of around 5 lakh circuit kilometres and over 120 GW of inter-regional transfer capability ensures reliable power flows across regions.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23881.05, down by 169.55 points or 0.70% after trading in a range of 23555.60 and 23907.40. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were HDFC Life Insurance up by 2.62%, ICICI Bank up by 2.32%, Adani Enterprises up by 2.19%, NTPC up by 1.57% and Axis Bank up by 1.01%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 4.80%, Maruti Suzuki down by 4.26%, Interglobe Aviation down by 2.63%, Reliance Industries down by 2.43% and Bajaj Finance down by 2.38% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mixed; Taiwan Weighted added 39.46 points or 0.11% to 35,457.29, Shanghai Composite strengthened 2.34 points or 0.06% to 3,988.56 and Jakarta Composite gained 51.03 points or 0.68% to 7,509.53, while Nikkei 225 slipped 424.11 points or 0.75% to 56,500.00, Hang Seng declined 177.54 points or 0.69% to 25,716.00, KOSPI dropped 50.25 points or 0.87% to 5,808.62 and Straits Times fell 16.84 points or 0.34% to 4,972.57.

European equity markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 28.14 points or 0.27% to 10,572.39, France’s CAC fell 69.1 points or 0.84% to 8,190.50 and Germany’s DAX lost 180.45 points or 0.76% to 23,623.50.