Stock market update: Nifty near 16,500, Sensex down 300 points; IT top gainer, autos decline

The Indian markets turned negative in the afternoon session despite opening on a strong note amid improved global cues on Thursday. Tracking their Asian peers, domestic equity market has opened nearly 1 per cent higher in the morning after Fed Reserve hinted at minor increase in interest rate. The rising tension between Ukraine and Russia and soaring crude prices continue to trigger volatility in markets across the world.  

Benchmarks Nifty50 and the Sensex corrected nearly 0.50% after a robust opening as the former slipped below crucial support of 16,600, while the latter dropped nearly 300 points in the afternoon trade. At 1.15 pm, the benchmarks were trading around 16,500 and 58,200 as Russian troops seized Kherson, one of the important city in Southern parts of Ukraine and crude oil price touched $118 a barrel.  

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Meanwhile, the 12-share Nifty Bank declined by more than 300 points to trade near 35,000 and autos corrected more than 1.5%, as even Nifty IT, Metal, Oil & gas lent some support to the falling market in a volatile trade.  

Wipro, Coal India, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, ITC, IndusInd Bank, Infosys and HDFC Ltd gained the most in the afternoon trade. Ultratech, Asian Paints, Maruti, Dr Reddy's, Hindustan Unilever, HDFC Life, Sharee Cements and SBI Life were among the top drags.  

Meanwhile, Indian bond yields rose further on Thursday, tracking an uptick in global crude oil prices, while expectations of a March rate increase by the U.S. Federal Reserve were reaffirmed by comments from its chairman, pushing up U.S. yields, reported Reuters 
 

Oil prices extended their rally, with Brent rising above $118 a barrel as trade disruption and shipping issues from Russian sanctions over the Ukraine crisis sparked supply worries, while U.S. crude stocks fell to multi-year lows.