Stock Market Closing: Nifty slips below 16500, Sensex drops more than 350 points; auto, financial services drag

The Indian markets extended losses on Thursday as benchmarks declined by nearly % to end in the red for the second consecutive day amid rising crude and geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine.  

Benchmark Nifty50 slipped below 16,500, while the Sensex dropped by more than 350 points to close at 16,498.05 and 55,102.68 respectively. 

The domestic markets were dragged by auto and FMCG and consumer durables, while IT, metal gained.  

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

Among broader market indices, Nifty mid cap declined nearly 0.4%, while the small cap indices gained around 0.35%. The 12-share Nifty Bank dropped more than 300 points to clear near 35,000-mark.  

ONGC, UPL, Power Grid, Wipro, IOC, Tech Mahindra, ITC, ITC, Infosys and Tata Steel were among top gainers on the two indices. Ultratech cement, HDFC Life, Asian Paints, Shree Cement, Eicher Motors, Ultratech cement, Hindustan Unilever, Dr Reddy's and Maruti dragged the market the most.  

Oil prices extended their rally on Thursday, as trade disruption and shipping issues from Russian sanctions over the Ukraine crisis sparked supply worries. 

Increasing crude prices will accelerate inflation in India, the world`s third-largest importer of crude, while also widening the country`s current account deficit, said PTI. 

Meanwhile, Indian equities in February marked their fifth straight month of fund outflows, with foreign investors dumping $4.74 billion worth of stocks, according to Refinitiv data.