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Indian equities continued their lackadaisical trade in afternoon session on absence of buying in frontline counters. Traders were worried as a steep rise in oil prices fanned fears of runaway inflation and slowing economic growth. Investors were eyeing US senate vote on the legislation seeking to ban the imports of Russian energy. It is expected that the move will create huge supply demand mismatch in the oil markets and will further push oil prices higher. Selling further crept in as Crisil in its latest report warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the flurry of punitive sanctions imposed on the former by the US and European nations, have the potential to cull India's imports on one hand and also lead to input cost pressure on downstream companies in India Inc. On the global front, all Asian markets were under selling pressure after Wall Street logged its biggest drop in more than a year as markets were jolted by another surge in oil prices. Back home, stocks from Metal, Auto and Oil & Gas counters were trading lower, while IT, TECK and Healthcare counters were supporting the markets.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 52448.75, down by 394.00 points or 0.75% after trading in a range of 52333.61 and 53024.21. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading mixed; the BSE Mid cap index lost 0.11%, while Small cap index was up by 0.15%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were IT up by 1.96%, TECK up by 1.77%, Healthcare up by 0.43%, Power up by 0.34% and Utilities was up by 0.16%, while Metal down by 2.24%, Auto down by 2.12%, Oil & Gas down by 2.00%, Energy down by 1.75% and Bankex was down by 1.68% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 2.53%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.34%, Infosys up by 2.26%, NTPC up by 2.23% and HCL Tech was up by 1.69%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.20%, Axis Bank down by 3.12%, Tata Steel down by 2.87%, Bajaj Finance down by 2.79% and SBI was down by 2.54% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Crisil in its latest report has warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the flurry of punitive sanctions imposed on the former by the US and European nations, have the potential to cull India's imports on one hand and also lead to input cost pressure on downstream companies in India Inc. The country's exports to Russia stood at $2.55 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal (0.8 percent of total imports), up 36.1 percent from $1.87 billion in the same period last fiscal (0.9 percent). On the other hand, exports to Ukraine were only 0.2 percent at $372 million during this period, up 18.8 percent from $313 million or 0.1 percent of the total outward shipments.

However, the report said a few sectors such as steel and aluminum may benefit from rising prices, which added that the impact on the country's exim trade will be due to the crippling sanctions on Russia by the US and Europe. The ongoing war has led to a spike in commodity prices, and if this is not passed on, it can increase input costs and squeeze the margins of downstream sectors.

It further said net-net, the impact of the ongoing war will vary by sector. A clearer picture, including of credit quality of affected companies, will emerge only in due course after the geopolitical situation improves. The price of Brent crude has skyrocketed above $125 a barrel from $97 before the Russian invasion began on February 24. Apart from oil marketing companies, this will also impact sectors such as chemicals and paints, which use crude oil-linked derivatives as their primary feedstock.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 15724.50, down by 138.65 points or 0.87% after trading in a range of 15695.75 and 15896.00. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were NTPC up by 2.50%, TCS up by 2.47%, Infosys up by 2.31%, Tech Mahindra up by 2.29% and Cipla was up by 2.05%. On the flip side, ONGC down by 4.23%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.24%, Eicher Motors down by 3.21%, Bajaj Finance down by 3.19% and Hindalco down by 3.16% were the top losers.

All Asian markets were trading lower; Taiwan Weighted dropped 353.44 points or 2.06% to 16,825.25, Shanghai Composite declined 44.04 points or 1.31% to 3,328.82, KOSPI fell 23.83 points or 0.9% to 2,627.48, Nikkei 225 slipped 430.46 points or 1.71% to 24,790.95, Straits Times trembled 40.71 points or 1.28% to 3,147.11, Hang Seng decreased 110.27 points or 0.52% to 20,947.36 and Jakarta Composite was down by 0.13 points or 0% to 6,868.94.

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