Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 21 (ANI): The equity markets witnessed a highly volatile trading session on Thursday, with benchmark indices recovering from steep intraday losses but eventually ending slightly lower amid geopolitical concerns, elevated crude oil prices and expiry-related volatility.

The NSE Nifty 50 index closed at 23,654.70 with a decline of 4.30 points or 0.02 per cent, while the BSE Sensex settled at 75,183.36, down by 135.03 points or 0.18 per cent.

Market experts said investor sentiment remained cautious due to concerns related to the Middle East situation, crude oil prices, currency movements and bond yield pressures.

Vikram Kasat, Head Advisory at PL Capital, said, 'In today's trading session, Indian markets have had a highly volatile trading session, with benchmark indices managing to make some recovery following steep intraday falls, but eventually closing on the negative side amid worries over geopolitical issues and expiry-related volatility.'

He added that investors also closely tracked developments related to the U.S.-Iran situation and crude oil movements.

'The market mood was subdued due to geopolitical concerns in the Middle East, rising crude oil prices, currency movements, and concerns about bond yield levels. Even though there were pressures on frontline indices, buying support from defensive stocks and other sectors ensured that losses were moderated,' he stated.

According to him, the near-term market direction is likely to remain dependent on geopolitical developments, crude oil prices, foreign institutional investor (FII) flows and domestic macroeconomic indicators.

In the sectoral indices on NSE, a mixed trend was visible. Nifty Realty gained 1 per cent, while Nifty Auto rose 0.28 per cent, Nifty PSU Bank advanced 0.22 per cent, Nifty Metal gained 0.20 per cent and Nifty Pharma surged 0.19 per cent.

On the losing side, Nifty IT declined 0.56 per cent, Nifty Media fell 0.35 per cent and Nifty Private Bank index slipped 0.15 per cent.

Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices moderated marginally compared to Wednesday but remained elevated, trading at USD 105 per barrel at the time of filing this report.

In the commodities market, gold prices traded flat at Rs 1,59,538 per 10 grams for 24 karat gold. Silver prices, however, declined 0.80 per cent to close at Rs 2,71,950 per kilogram.

Asian markets showed mixed trends on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 index surged 3.14 per cent to close at 61,744, while Taiwan's weighted index gained more than 3 per cent to settle at 41,368. South Korea's KOSPI index rallied around 8 per cent to close at 7,815.

Singapore's Straits Times index also ended in the green at 5,045, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index closed down by 1 per cent at 25,395. (ANI)