Indian Indices Fall on Thursday as Crude Surge, Global Cues Weigh
Indian equities ended lower on Thursday as a broad-based selloff, rising crude oil prices and weak global cues weighed on sentiment.Continued foreign outflows also added pressure on the benchmarks.The BSE Sensex fell 582.86 points, or 0.8%, to close at 76,913.50, while the NSE Nifty declined 180.10 points, or 0.7%, to 23,997.55.Brent crude rose about 5% to $124 per barrel, raising concerns over inflation and growth for India, a major oil importer. The spike followed discussions by U.S. President Donald Trump with oil companies over potential supply disruptions linked to the prolonged blockade of Iranian ports.In corporate developments, Hindustan Unilever (NSE:HINDUNILVR, BOM:500696) fell nearly 3% even as it reported an increase in consolidated profit rose to 29.9 billion Indian rupees. Revenue from operations also increased to 161.7 billion Indian rupees from 149.6 billion rupees a year ago.Sun Pharma Advanced Research (NSE:SPARC, BOM:532872) declined about 4% after announcing the sale of a U.S. FDA-granted priority review voucher for $195 million. The proceeds are expected to support pipeline development and innovation strategy, the company said.