Mumbai, Indian equity benchmarks started Thursday’s session — the final trading day of the week — on a weaker note, with both indices declining nearly 1 per cent in early deals, as a sharp jump in crude oil prices dented sentiment and outweighed support from stock-specific earnings gains.

Sensex fell as much as 0.95 per cent or over 700 points to 76,759.37 in early trade, hitting an intraday low, while Nifty declined 0.96 per cent or more than 200 points to 23,943.45.

Selling pressure was broad-based, with auto, banking, realty, metal, consumer durables and FMCG stocks, falling up to 1 per cent. Eternal, Shriram Finance, IndiGo, M&M, Jio Financial Services, Tata Motors PV, Axis Bank, Grasim Industries, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were among the top laggards.

While Nifty 100, Nifty Midcap, Nifty 200 and Nifty 500 indices declined by up to around 1 per cent. Meanwhile, the India VIX rose 2.7 per cent to 17.91, indicating heightened market volatility.

According to a market expert, two key headwinds could impact markets in the near term.

“Brent crude at around $120 threatens India’s macroeconomic stability. If prices remain elevated, it could pose downside risks to growth and push inflation higher,” the expert said.

“Secondly, stronger-than-expected results from AI majors in the US and South Korea may extend the ongoing AI trade, potentially leading to further portfolio outflows from India,” he added.

The Fed’s decision to hold rates was on expected lines and is unlikely to have a significant impact. However, the rise in US 10-year bond yields to 4.4 per cent could further incentivise capital outflows from India,” said Dr VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.

Exit polls indicating consolidation of the ruling party’s position may offer some sentiment support but do not materially alter market fundamentals.

“Investors can focus on companies reporting better-than-expected Q4 results and strong outlooks, where opportunities remain,” he said.

Oil prices rallied after US President Donald Trump reportedly held talks with oil companies on steps to reduce the impact of a potential prolonged blockade of Iran’s ports, raising concerns over possible disruptions to global crude supplies.

Separately, the US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, broadly in line with expectations, while cautioning about inflation risks stemming from the Iran conflict. Market participants have also pared back expectations of rate cuts in 2026.

Crude oil prices are approaching their 52-week highs of $114.81. Brent crude was trading at $113.18 per barrel, up 2.48 per cent from the previous close, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $109.64 per barrel, also higher on the day.

However, Brent crude hovered close to $120 per barrel after surging over 6 per cent on Wednesday to its highest level since June 2022.

In Asian markets, indices were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng were down over 1 per cent, South Korea’s KOSPI declined 0.40 per cent, while Singapore’s Straits Times gained 0.65 per cent.

On Wall Street, US markets ended on a flat note, with the S&P 500 settling at 7,135.95, down 0.04 per cent, and the Nasdaq finishing at 24,673.24, up 0.04 per cent.

Notably, domestic equity markets will remain shut for trading on Friday, May 1, in observance of Maharashtra Day.

Mumbai: Ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi has met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and demanded a joint meeting regarding the preparations for Eid-ul-Azha. He presented a formal letter to the Chief Minister at the Secretariat, requesting him to immediately convene an important meeting to review the state-level preparations. Drawing the Chief Minister’s attention, MLA Azmi informed him that Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on May 27, 2026. He stressed the need to make timely and robust administrative arrangements as Eid-ul-Azha is approaching. He requested the Chief Minister to invite the relevant administrative authorities, religious leaders and religious organizations to resolve the issues related to Eid-ul-Adha and after listening to the problems faced by Muslims during Eid-ul-Adha, issue instructions to the administration to take necessary action in this regard. This meeting should be held soon under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister so that Muslims do not face any kind of difficulty during Eid-ul-Adha.

The common citizens of Mumbai should take up the task of cleanliness so that they find the roads and streets clean after leaving their homes. There should be continuity in daily work to promote awareness regarding cleanliness and to create an effective image of the administration. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma said that the cleaning of public roads and streets in Mumbai should be started as per the rules and on time. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma personally visited the area this morning. The inspection visit included cleaning of Karar Nallah, Saptarshi Nallah, Shivaji Chowk Nallah in Malad (East) in P-East section, Piramal Nallah in Malad (West) in P-South section, Oshiwara River, Ramchandra Nallah in Malad (West) in P-West section, Ponla Hans, West Nallah, Ponla Hans section in P-West section. Although there is still time for the onset of monsoon, the Municipal Corporation is busy in preparations for the onset of monsoon. It should be ensured that the cleaning of drains is completed by May 31, 2026 in any case. Also, the garbage and sludge floating in the drains should be removed immediately. In this work, in coordination with the local public representatives, they should be informed about the cleaning of drains from time to time, Dr. Sharma directed the officers of the Municipal Corporation.

Chairman of ‘P East’ and ‘P West’ Divisional Committee Haider Ali Aslam Sheikh, Local Corporator Tejinder Singh Tiwana, Local Corporator Siddharth Sharma, Deputy Commissioner (Zone 4) Dr. Bhagya Sri Kapse, Assistant Commissioner (P East) Rupali Sarmalkar, Assistant Commissioner (P North) Kundan Valvi, Assistant Commissioner (P South) Aniruddha Kulkarni, Assistant Commissioner (K ​​West) Shri Chakrapani Ale and other concerned officers were present on the occasion.