Indian equity benchmarks continued their trade in red territory in morning session, as surging oil prices and unabated foreign fund outflows unnerved investors. Weakness in IT stocks and a negative trend in global markets also weighed on investor sentiment. Traders remained cautious with the EEPC data showing that the country's engineering exports plunged 66.8 per cent to the UAE and 45 per cent to Saudi Arabia in March due to the West Asia crisis, which has impacted cargo ships movement in international waters. Some concern also came as an article on 'State of the Economy' published in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) April bulletin stated that ongoing conflict in West Asia and supply chain disruptions could pose challenges to the domestic economy in the form of higher energy costs, input cost pressures, disruption in trade flows and spillovers in financial markets. On the global front, Asian markets are trading mostly in red following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, as hopes for a speedy resolution to the Middle East war faded after Tehran vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed until the port blockades by the US remain, raising concerns of surging crude oil prices and long-term inflation.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 76894.26, down by 769.74 points or 0.99% after trading in a range of 76829.10 and 77710.82. There were 4 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were IT down by 3.18%, TECK down by 2.78%, Telecom down by 1.30%, Utilities down by 1.13% and Metal down by 1.12%, while there was no gaining sectoral index on the BSE. 

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.04%, Interglobe Aviation up by 0.22%, Bajaj Finance up by 0.07% and Ultratech Cement up by 0.03%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 4.36%, HCL Technologies down by 4.10%, Tech Mahindra down by 3.08%, Sun Pharma down by 2.96% and TCS down by 2.45% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, an article on 'State of the Economy' published in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) April bulletin has said that ongoing conflict in West Asia and supply chain disruptions could pose challenges to the domestic economy in the form of higher energy costs, input cost pressures, disruption in trade flows and spillovers in financial markets.

It stated that the conflict in West Asia has intensified stress on worldwide supply chains in March, but some improvement was observed in early April. Domestic economic activity remained strong across many sectors, with a slowdown in a few others. The conflict’s duration and intensity, coupled with its impact on energy and other infrastructure, increase uncertainty around inflation and growth prospects.

It stated ‘If the conflict persists and supply chains are not restored early, it may create challenges to the domestic economy in the form of higher energy costs, input cost pressures, disruption in trade flows and financial market spillovers.’ It pointed out though inflation is within the target range, the risk of an increase has grown, driven by supply-side disruptions, including weather-related uncertainties. The RBI said the views expressed in the Bulletin article are of the authors and do not represent the views of the central bank. 

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 23943.90, down by 229.15 points or 0.95% after trading in a range of 23942.55 and 24206.00. There were 8 stocks advancing against 42 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 1.32%, Bajaj Auto up by 1.09%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 0.96%, Grasim Industries up by 0.72% and Interglobe Aviation up by 0.25%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 4.34%, HCL Technologies down by 4.20%, Tech Mahindra down by 3.26%, Sun Pharma down by 2.93% and TCS down by 2.45% were the top losers.

Asian markets are trading mostly in red; Jakarta Composite plunged 225.76 points or 3.16% to 7,152.85, Shanghai Composite weakened 14.67 points or 0.36% to 4,078.58, KOSPI dropped 18.46 points or 0.29% to 6,457.35, Hang Seng declined 13.2 points or 0.05% to 25,902.00 and Straits Times fell 31.95 points or 0.65% to 4,912.16.

On the flip side, Nikkei 225 surged 490.77 points or 0.83% to 59,631.00 and Taiwan Weighted added 1093.12 points or 2.9% to 38,807.27.