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Key gauges end lower amid rising crude oil prices
Oct-28-2026

Indian equity benchmarks recovered most of their sharp intraday losses but ended lower on Wednesday, dragged by rising crude oil prices amid renewed concerns over supply disruptions following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, overshadowing ongoing diplomatic efforts. Traders also remained cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy decision. 

Both the indices closed in the red, with Sensex underperforming the Nifty. The Sensex was losing around 0.50%, while the Nifty was down over 0.20%, as sharp selling in Energy, Oil & Gas and Telecom stocks weighed on investor sentiment. However, buying in Auto and Healthcare shares helped the markets recover from their intraday lows. 

Some of the important factors in trade: 

India hopes to boost exports to China, ASEAN in coming years: Regarding India-China trade relations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is open to Chinese suppliers meeting its growing import needs, even as it will take action through established legal processes against any unfair pricing.

Fresh non-performing assets in Banking Sector likely to rise in FY27: Ratings agency Icra in its latest report has said that Fresh non-performing assets (NPA) in the banking sector are expected to increase during FY27, with private sector banks expected to face relatively higher pressure due to their exposure to unsecured retail and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) loans.  

RBI Governor urges states to adopt prudent borrowing, quality spending for fiscal stability: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has urged state governments to adopt prudent borrowing strategies, improve the quality of public expenditure and strengthen cash management practices to safeguard their fiscal health over the longer term. 

India faces no US pressure to reduce imports of Russian crude: Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that India has faced no pressure from the US to reduce its imports of Russian crude. He said Indian refiners would purchase crude from suppliers offering the most competitive prices, with energy security remaining a key priority amid global market uncertainties 

Global front: European markets were trading lower as investors reacted to a mixed batch of corporate earnings and looked ahead to the monetary policy announcements from the Federal Reserve, due later in the day, and the European Central Bank's rate decision on Thursday. Asian markets settled higher as technology shares followed their U.S. peers higher amid renewed optimism over artificial intelligence demand. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex fell 352.64 points or 0.48% to 73,246.03 and the CNX Nifty was down by 50.90 points or 0.22% to 22,698.85. 

The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 73,525.44 and 72,603.57, respectively. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index. 

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 1.34%, Healthcare up by 1.07%, Industrials up by 0.87%, Consumer Durables up by 0.69% and Consumer Discretionary up by 0.56%, while Energy down by 2.26%, Oil & Gas down by 2.09%, Telecom down by 2.07%, TECK down by 1.84% and IT down by 1.77% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 3.81%, Trent up by 1.91%, Interglobe Aviation up by 1.67%, State Bank of India up by 1.40% and Maruti Suzuki India up by 1.09%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 4.05%, Reliance Industries down by 3.45%, TCS down by 1.82%, Tata Steel down by 1.69% and HCL Technologies down by 1.50% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, regarding India-China trade relations, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is open to Chinese suppliers meeting its growing import needs, even as it will take action through established legal processes against any unfair pricing. He expressed hope that India would become a major exporter to China and the ASEAN region in the coming years. He added that India was open to promoting free and fair trade with every country.

He said, “They (China) are also providing us with important intermediate goods and raw materials. If, in any particular product, we find that fair play or pricing is not proper, there is an established judicial process to address it. Other than that, we believe in the rules of fair play and open trade.” Regarding China's new export controls on key machinery, including tunnel boring machines, the minister said 'We will work on it'. The restrictions on exports of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) and related items could affect several Indian projects, including underground metro systems, high-speed rail lines and tunnels in various locations, including border areas.

The members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. According to the latest data released by the Commerce Ministry, India’s bilateral trade with China rose by about 29% to $91.76 billion during April-September of the current fiscal year, making China India’s largest trading partner in the first half of 2026-27. The two-way trade stood at $71.24 billion during April-September 2025-26.

CNX Nifty touched high and low of 22,778.05 and 22,497.70, respectively. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index.   

The top gainers on Nifty were Apollo Hospital up by 4.43%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.72%, Trent up by 3.31%, SBI Life Insurance up by 2.06% and Interglobe Aviation up by 2.03%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 3.43%, Reliance Industries down by 3.19%, ONGC down by 2.16%, Tech Mahindra down by 1.92% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.55% were the top losers. 

European markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 28.37 points or 0.27% to 10,658.17, France’s CAC fell 10.84 points or 0.14% to 7,876.30 and Germany’s DAX lost 8.27 points or 0.03% to 25,582.50.

Asian markets settled higher on Wednesday, buoyed by an AI-fuelled rally on Wall Street. South Korea’s Kospi surged above 6% as revived optimism over artificial intelligence demand and strong earnings from chipmaker SK hynix lifted investor sentiment. Global investors were monitoring the 20th Central Committee's Fifth Plenum, which concludes on Thursday, October 29, 2026, for further policy signals and clarity on China's economic priorities. Meanwhile, market participants awaited the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision with expectations of a pause, but sticky services inflation and a relentless climb in long-term US Treasury yields kept the possibility of a December rate hike alive, adding structural borrowing pressures to the broader market. 

Asian Indices

Last Trade            

Change in Points

Change in %      

Shanghai Composite

3,681.47

33.17

0.91

Hang Seng

23,094.83

53.51

0.23

Jakarta Composite

5,282.31

16.18

0.31

KLSE Composite

1,613.87

2.02

0.13

Nikkei 225

63,954.19

685.82

1.08

Straits Times

5,397.91

0.88

0.02

KOSPI Composite

6,012.44

374.10

6.63

Taiwan Weighted

47,035.58

939.35

2.04
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