Closing Bell: Indices end in red amid mixed global cues and rising oil prices; metal shines

Top losing sectors today were auto, banks, capital goods, FMCG, oil & gas, and power, while buying was seen in metal and smallcap indices.

European stocks advanced while Asian markets mostly ended higher. Global markets continue to be mixed by events in Ukraine as the war continues. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy warned at the weekend that if peace talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin fail, it would mean the start of a third global war. 

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of the market's expectation of volatility over the near term, went down by 4.36 per cent to 24.55 levels. The Nifty 50 index ended up losing by 169 points and closed at 17,117 levels. Bank Nifty has also gone down by 410 points and ended the day at 36,018. The Sensex settled at 57,292 dropping by 571 points. Similarly, the BSE MidCap index has fallen today by 162 points and ended the day at 23,661 levels, the SmallCap has gained on the contrary, up by 104 points and closed at 27,811 at day end.  

On the BSE Sensex today, the top stocks were Titan, Sun Pharmaceuticals, HDFC Bank, and NTPC. On the other hand, the top losers were Power Grid Corporation of India, UltraTech Cement, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, and Nestle India. 

The total stocks traded today were 3,670 out of which 1,561 advanced and 1,965 stocks declined. There were 144 stocks that were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit are 368 and the number of stocks that were locked in the lower circuit today were 354. The numbers of stocks that have made a 52-week high are 175 and there were 32 stocks that made a 52-week low today.