Markets pare early gains on boiling oil prices; Sensex tumbles over 571 points

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty pared their early gains to close nearly 1% lower on March 21 as surging oil prices played spoilsport amid prolonged Russia-Ukraine war.

The 30-share Sensex plunged by 571.44 points or 0.99% to settle at 57,292.49. During the day, it tanked 634.85 points or 1.09% to 57,229.08.

The broader NSE Nifty declined by 169.45 points or 0.98% to finish at 17,117.60.

Among Sensex constituents, Power Grid, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever Limited and HCL Technologies were among the major laggards.

In contrast, Sun Pharmaceutical, HDFC Bank, Maruti, Titan and NTPC were the only gainers.

“With no significant improvement in the tensions between Russia and Ukraine and uncertainty in the Gulf region, crude prices surged leading to a sell-off in the domestic market after the recent rally. FII’s coming back to buying mode is a positive for domestic equities but a rise in bulk diesel prices and inflationary pressure are bending the domestic market,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

On Thursday, the BSE benchmark rallied 1,047.28 points or 1.84% to finish at 57,863.93. Likewise, the broader Nifty surged 311.70 points or 1.84% to 17,287.05.