Indian shares fall as crude drifts above $100; financials, autos lead losses

Financials and automakers dragged Indian shares down on Thursday, as Brent crude topped $100 a barrel after Iran seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz and peace talks showed no sign of resuming.

The Nifty 50 lost 0.84% to 24,173.05, while the BSE Sensex shed 1.09% to 77,664.

Brent crude rose for a fourth straight session to trade above $103 a barrel as uncertainty over Middle East peace talks lingered. Other Asian markets fell 0.4%.

HSBC downgraded Indian equities to “underweight” from “neutral” on Thursday, citing the impact of high energy prices on India. Foreign investors sold a net $4.4 billion worth of Indian shares in April and $18.6 billion so far in 2026.

“Despite lingering Mideast tensions, April’s rebound after March’s slump suggests domestic investors are taking comfort in valuations and betting on an early resolution, even as foreign investors stay wary of high oil prices and rupee weakness,” said G. Chokkalingam, founder and head of research at Equinomics Research.

Including the session’s losses, the Nifty and Sensex are up about 8% each in April, partially recovering from the more than 11% drop in March.

On the day, 13 of the 16 major sectors fell. Small-caps and mid-caps slid 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively.

Auto stocks lost 2.4%, while heavyweight financials fell 1.4%, led by 1.4% drop in ICICI Bank and 1.9% loss in HDFC Bank.

Infosys, the country’s second-largest IT company, closed 2.2% lower ahead of its results. The IT index dropped 1.2%.

Bucking trend, pharma stocks gained 2.4%, led by a 5.7% jump in Cipla after it received the U.S. drug regulator’s approval for a generic version of a widely used respiratory drug.